Ressurection
by snowfall
Summary: on hiatus. ::moans:: I just got to skim a piece of YYH that I missed out on namely half the series, and it does not match up at ALL. Oh yeah, and life is busy much. count me out for a while, and mebbe a rewrite of the fic itstelf.
1. Kuronue, My friend

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN YYH! YOSHIHIRO TOGASHI DOES! PRAISE HIM!

HEY PEOPLE! This is my first fanfic! Aren't you PROUD of me?

Summary: ...Do I really have to retype this? Haven't you just read it and clicked?

I will be writing this fic third person POV. Or at least what I believe is third person. O.o

There are going to be a lot of short chapters, although I will try to increase their length. I apologize for my brain farts.

-

A breeze rustled through the enormous canopy of the redwood trees of a Makai rainforest, causing a few drops of water to drip down from the chartreuse and emerald green leaves. A peridot basilisk demon with a silver sheen to its scales slithered through the multihued foliage below, ignorant of the dark shadow that followed silently a few paces behind. Nott a sound was heard in the dim boundaries of the forest, all animals—predator and prey alike—were hidden, gazing out from there dens and nests.

The pale green demon came to a halt, its quarry found. In the midst of a large clearing, a small, subterranean cave was cleverly hidden, dozens of now overgrown plants still on guard for any suspicious characters. A huge tree trunk blocked the entrance, leaving only a few miniscule openings that only insects could fit through.

However, the basilisk did not seem worried. He merely stared at the trunk for a few seconds, before walking right up to it—and through it. The small figure that had been tailing the demon paused, and its copper-red eyes widened with surprise. But that was for a moment, nothing more.

-

The reptilian being had come to the end of the stone and dirt tunnel in the ground. He took another cautious step forward, and took in a short, sharp, breath. A small and neat but dusty room had been cleared of furniture, and a large circle of square silver slabs had been arranged in the middle. The metal framed a slowly tarnishing necklace placed upon a large bar of glowing gold. Upon the gold were three, artistically simple, carefully engraved words.

_Kuronue. My friend._

The greedy creature sneered at the precious metals, not quite believing that so much wealth could be spent on the dead. Then, he grinned, showing a rather large pair of pointed fangs that protruded from strong jaws. "So. This is the place..." The dragons' relation smiled again, this time at the well-made Makai silver. He stooped down and placed his hand on the metal, relishing its cool, solid feel. It would fetch a fairly high price when sold to the right people.

This was the time that the shadower of the scaly basilisk chose to reveal himself. A short, spiky haired demon shifted from the shadows, eyeing the other demon suspiciously. "_What _are you planning on doing with that?"

Hiei glared at the reptilian demon in front of him. The koorime was not in a particularly good mood. Once again, Koenma had sent him on a pointless mission to intimidate someone into giving information. Yusuke and Kuwabara had been ruled out for their brashness and volume, and Kurama because he had his mother and schoolwork to worry about. Stupid humans and their useless schools. Dimwit toddler and his moronic errands...

The basilisk demon still had not answered Hiei's question. "What are you planning on doing with that?" he asked again, impatiently. "And who are you?" the scaled resident of Makai turned cautiously around, and lifted its scaly arms into the air, imitating a gesture of peace that was completely lost on a stolid Hiei.

"My name is Keila." He informed Hiei in a resounding bass tone. He slowly lowered his clawed hands—and jerked them back up, making several quick motions in the air and speaking a few sharp but incoherent words all in a matter of seconds before spinning quickly around—only to face the blade of Hiei's katana at his throat.

The fire demon growled threateningly, "What did you do?"

To his surprise, the basilisk, shuddered, and Hiei felt strange waves of ki rolling off of his body. The fire koorime heard sobbing, and it took it a moment to realize where it was coming from: Keila. There were tears pouring out of his scale-framed eyes. Hiei looked at his opponent with some alarm, eyeing his weeping and snarling inferior with distaste. This was an unexpected developement and frankly, it disgruntled him, being unused to wailing opponents.

Without so much as a flicker of warning, the crying eyes narrowed, tears still flowing freely. "STONE DAGGER!"

A powerful blast of spirit energy that would have turned most demons into statues shot out of Keila's outstretched palm, and slammed into the smaller—but fortunately more powerful—demon. Luckily, a basilisk demon's attacks were normally limited to the strength of the demon, unlike the killing gaze of the actual creature. More annoyed than actually hurt, Hiei shook his head to clear his vision of the spots of bright ki, than used the flat of his katana's blade to knock the peridot demon unconscious, fighting against the reflex to kill Keila on the spot. "That was easy enough..." he hauled the other demon none too gently out of the hidden cave, pausing at the exit to glance back at the necklace.

Nothing looked like it had changed... But than what had those words and motions made by Keila meant? He glared at the grave for a few more seconds, his jagan eye glowing beneath his bandanna; trying to see if anything had been altered. . .nothing. . . Hiei dragged the basilisk demon's body away to Reikai—and Koenma.

The brat had a whole lot to explain.

-

Three hours after the fire demon had left, the dirt beneath the silver and gold stirred, and a hand burst out of the ground. Following the hand was a tall, slender body clothed in black material. Kuronue stretched his wings and arms, blinked, and surveyed his bare, empty surroundings, hacking up a few clumps of dirt in the process. "What the hell happened here? We're never this neat. . ." he retrieved the bar of gold that had been a stand for the necklace, reading its engravement.

"Kuronue..my friend."

An empty silence followed the hollowness of his voice echoing through the tunnels.

"What?" He looked around again, and tensed at the dusty, ancient look the "den" had acquired. "Kurama? This is a joke...right?" The chimera laughed uneasily, thinking that his mischievous partner in crime had somehow managed to bury him underground while he had been asleep. "Show yourself, you bastard!"

He never noticed the pool of ink black creeping up behind him until it spoke up in a whiny voice that sounded half-crazed.

"_So . . .Keila has completed his task. . .you're awake. . .!"_

_-_

_Hmmm..._

Yay! First chappie done! I know that the chapters are short, but I'll try and make them longer as the story goes along...

Yiuughhhh. Rocky, rocky, bumpy chapter. I do hope that you'll bear with me, though!


	2. TV and donuts

For the few Reviewers that I have: I LOVE YOU! YOU ARE A WONDERFUL PERSON!

Disclaimer: YYH isn't mine. You are a fool if you ever thought it was mine.

-

Suiichi Minamino, formerly known as the "great" Youko Kurama, sighed and brushed a few crimson locks of hair out of his leaf-green eyes. Another mission alert had been given to them by "Lord Koenma", courtesy of the Botan, the deity of Death. Yuusuke and Kuwabara were also with Kurama in the castle, as well as Botan herself. Hiei was lurking somewhere in the shadows, as always. Fortunately he wasn't fighting with Yuusuke or Kuwabara for once. All of the Reiki Tantei looked rather unexcited at the thought of visiting the ruler of the spirit world, however.

Another enemy to fight. Another problem. Another solution to be found. It would almost be boring if it weren't for the life-threatening part. This time, Koenma had been rather... vague on the details of the mission, but it involved a trip to Makai and something about a "lost soul" that was not supposed to be there.

Kurama observed his friends out of the corners of his eyes, still wondering how in the world he had gotten mixed up with them. Hiei, who was clothed to camouflage with the night, was (as always) glaring at anything and everything that crossed his path. He knew something, though, and the fox planned on finding out what..it was only a matter of time..

Kuwabara. There wasn't much to say about Kazuma. Perhaps that he was extremely noble and justifying. Also that he was extremely... ignorant. To put it honestly: he was very stupid at times with all brawn and no brains although he retained a code of honor somewhere in his skull.

Yusuke, on the other hand, had some smartness in him. Although the raven haired detective never formulated any useful strategies whatsoever he did always manage to achieve his goal. He had a brain that functioned properly-he just chose to ignore sometimes.

And then there was Botan: perky, perhaps a little too cheerful, happy, forgetful, loud—and blue-haired. Blue-haired and pink-eyed. Not a diseased sort of pink, either. A bright, happy pink that was almost an amethyst-like purple. Yet, despite all of her faults, the plant demon couldn't help but feel a sort of affection for her. For all of them, and all of what they had gone through together. Being a human really had softened his harsh personality over the years, despite what he told himself.

The doors to Koenma's office flew open, and a dark purple oni with twin horns suddenly rushed by, holding a teetering stack of yellow and red papers.

"AND MAKE SURE THAT THE VAULT IS SECURELY LOCKED! SECURELY! DO YOU HEAR?" Koenama's screeching voice attacked the detectives' eardrums, loud in spite of his pacifier. The toddler-formed son of Enma Daioh sat back on his cushioned swivel chair and whirled around to face his employees, a vein bulging in his forehead.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? YOU NEED TO GET ON THIS MISSION A-S-A-P! YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT BY NOW!" these words were powerfully uttered and laced with just the slightest squeak. Botan, who had been perched on her oar, more or less fell off. Kuwabara, however, merely stared at the ceiling with his eyes glazed dully over, dreaming of his "beloved" Yukina while red eyes glared at him, their owner well aware of the human's thoughts. Yusuke sweatdropped and kicked Koenma's prized spinning chair in the leg.

"Shuttit. We came, didn't we? Now what's this about us going to Makai? Do I get to miss school with Takenaka?" Yusuke eagerly probed the young ruler for answers, desperate for any reason that he could give Keiko to avoid school.

"I'm not risking my life again to go after another faked demon in _Antarctica. _Do you know how many polar bears live there?"

Koenma, rather annoyed at being interrupted in his practiced glare of anger, huffed and switched on a TV that had been brought over by Jorge the oni.

"Here is one of Maikai's rainforests at 5:48 AM," the successor of Reikai announced with a large sweep of his undersized arm. "As all of you know, I sent for you to come on a tracking mission, BUT NONE OF YOU CAME!" Koenma snarled, and regained his composure.

"So, I ordered Hiei to come and track Keila, whom none of you saw fit to waste any time on."

Hiei sneered, having finally come out of the shadows. "That basilisk? It _wasn't _worth any time. Even you could have caught it, with your pathetic fighting abilities" the ruler of Reikai's response to this was to glare and motion for them to watch the screen, which was rolling credits in large white letters on a black background.

"Produced by: The Great Koenma"

"Character selected by: the Great Koenma"

"All credit goes to: the Great Koenma"

"copyright (A/N insert date here. I don't know when exactly they lived.-;), Property of the Great Koenma"

in much smaller font "starring: Hiei and Keila"

Everyone in the room—excluding Koenma—sweatdropped, all too aware of the young ruler's ego.

On screen, a large amount of plants appeared, all covered by drops of clear rain. Kuwabara guffawed loudly. "That's it? That's gotta be the cruddiest movie I've ever seen..It's starring SHORTY? HAHAHAAAAAHAA-" he was silenced by one of Hiei's famous death glares.

"As you can probably tell," Koenma announced, "the demon in this corner (here he indicated a pile of dead leaves) is a basilisk. The shadow on top of the screen is our good friend Hiei."

"Hn." Hiei grunted his usual incoherent noise, and noticeably twitched. "Toddler. You followed me and_ filmed _the mission without my knowing?"

"Now Hiei...calm down. Hiei...Hiei...!" Koenma took cover under his desk as the fire demon (apparition?) advanced menacingly towards him. The "detective" did not appreciate the filming of himself in the least. Botan tried to subdue Hiei as the other reikai Tantei continued to stare at the glowing screen.

The image on the television had abruptly turned away from the pile of leaves, and it appeared that the cameraman had placed the camera on a boulder. Jorge stuffing his face with donuts then filled the screen for a good twenty minutes, and the camera apparently fell off the rock, because everything went fuzzy and staticy a muffled "oops.." was all they heard.

Jorge sweatdropped, sidled out the door, and ran for his life.

Botan, meanwhile, had somehow managed to prevent Hiei from blowing Koenma into oblivion. The young ruler took heart at this, and whipped out a megaphone. "JORGE! THIS IS COMING OUT OF YOUR PAYCHECK!

-

Yes this was a pointless chapter.

But I had fun writing it, so there.

I thank any and all reviewers who reviewed or will reviewed, and would give you a hug if you were not probably living on another continent across the ocean.


	3. Stuck

Disclaimer: not mine Yoshihiro Togashi's

NAGEM! another new person! Happy happy!

Thank you to:

Nagem for (trying? Mebbe I'm doing it wrong..) letting me know how to get italics

Fire Gemron & Darknessflameyoukai telling me what kind of demon Kuro is!

Just to let the rest of you know, I'm turning Kuronue's little jewelry thing into a necklace! If it was a pendant or a bracelet or something, NOW IT'S A NECKLACE!

Random symbols: creative cursing because I was too lazy to type it out.

Italics means thoughts or whatever inside peoples' heads, kay? Specifically Youko!

Oh, and this is the character vocab for this chapter! (the Japanese definitions will be waiting for you at the bottom).

Youko-Youko Kurama

Kurama-the general person-ya know, Kurama and Suiichi scrambled up?

Suiichi-umm..don't know if I'm gonna use this one..--"

---

_"KURONUE! RUN! FLY! _MOVE IT_!" a silver haired fox demon called out to his partner and long-time friend as he raced through the thick bamboo forest, his voice laced with panic. Bounty hunters and Reikai Tantei alike were pursuing the two demons. _

_A sudden snap of a dry twig alerted the bat demon to the presence of a hunter right behind him. There were too many hunters to fight, and if they took flight, they would almost certainly be shot down. Their only option was to flee. On foot. _

_Another snap sounded in the forest; a bright glint of gold and a slight tension around his neck told Kuronue that his necklace had caught on something and been left behind. He skidded to a halt and swerved around, nearly tripping on a rock as he did so. He would not leave his necklace behind. It was the only thing that he possessed that he valued more than his life. He heard Kurama let out a horrified yell._

"_KURONUE! They're right behind—" the chimera's eyes widened, as he felt a dull pressure against his back. _

_-_

_The scene swirled together in a vast mix of colors, and he found himself suddenly standing in the middle of one of their many hideouts, eyes flickering from the walls to the floor and ceiling._

_Then—nothing. . . ._

Kuronue was floating sleepily in a void of darkness. Literally. He was floating in a small, circular, dark chamber with no furniture whatsoever. Unfortunately, it did have very solid—if flexible—walls.

_::bump::_

"**OW!!** WHAT THE $$#?"the startled demon let out a series of curses while gripping his throbbing head...before realizing that he was alive.

"Botan. . .?" The chimera asked hesitantly for the ferry girl who had led him to the spirit world, eyes wide. They had left on friendly—if cautious—terms after his trial and punishment.

No answer.

Puzzled, Kuronue inspected his hands. Then his feet. And the rest of himself. He wasn't the slightest bit transparent, and couldn't fly without the use of his wings. He certainly wasn't a reincarnation, or all of the memories from his past wouldn't be there. Especially the memory of how his death had come about.

The bat demon ran his hands along the smooth, seamless walls that contained him. There was no opening. No door, no crack, not even a good-old-fashioned vent. "WHO STUCK ME IN HERE!?" Utterly bewildered, and beginning to feel slightly claustrophobic, he assaulted the barrier, his wings lifting and flapping urgently, the tatters of what was left of his cloak fluttering like a wounded butterfly's wings.

"LET—" BANG

"ME—" BANG

"OUT!!!"

Frustrated, Kuronue reached into his pocket and unfolded a small, almost invisible knife that had been stolen from King Enma himself a few years ago (A/N: remember, _he_ thinks that it was a few years ago. He's been dead for a while now, though, so it's been stolen for longer than that...just wanted to tell you) it had been very useful many times before, because could cut through almost any material in all three worlds.

It proved itself worthy of its former once again. _crack_ the smallest sign of strain appeared on the opaque wall when the silver blue-tinted blade tapped against it, and the bat demon grinned, digging it in further. It would work! He was sure of it.

The blade broke with a small _ping._

Well...almost.

Kuronue glowered at the remains of the knife.

"That's it? That's all a knife from KING ENMA will do? WHAT THE FUCKIN HELL? DAMMIT! Kuramaaaa! WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I ACTUALLY NEED YOU?"

This was all spoken by a demon that was still not aware of his partner's death—and life.

---

and back to Koenma's place. . .

"JORGE!! THIS IS COMING OUT OF YOUR PAYCHECK!!"

Yusuke continued to stare the glowing TV as it continued to replay the video. He tried desperately to ignore the nearly drooling Kuwabara and loud noises emitting themselves from Jorge, Koenma, and Botan's mouths. He didn't quite comprehend how a basilisk in a rainforest in Makai was a mission for them, but then, Koenma had almost no sense of logic, either. To his left, Yusuke's red-headed (A/N: NOT KUWABARA!) teammate also curiously observed the screen. When the camera swung to film the clearing in the forest for the third time, his eyes narrowed.

Kurama's left eye twitched slightly as he felt a sharp, slightly itchy sensation in the back of his skull. A blurred, almost foggy image of Youko Kurama entered his mind, as it had done several other times in the past.

_What is that strange employer of yours up to now? What-_ Youko started as he saw, through Suiichi's eyes, what was being played on screen

_I know that forest . . . I know it quite well..._

Just the slightest flash of gold entered Suiichi's eyes. For there, in a dim corner of the screen, was the tree that Kurama himself had planted there to keep the grave and memorial from being disturbed.

_You should know. _The tone was mild, although the words were of a serious type. _Hiei informed me before. . ._

What_ should I know?_ the image's ears twitched in anticipation, suspicious of the worst.

_Someone tried to rob your cave. Koenma's holding him in a cell right now, even though he's unconscious. It's a basilisk demon, apparently a trained sorcerer._

Youko snorted. _That's all? A pitiful basilisk?_ if the fox demon hadn't been so dignified, he would have rolled his eyes_. Of course he got through my plants. I didn't have enough time to put up a decent barrier at that time, with the idiotic probation and all_.

_He cast a spell inside your den._

Suiiichi winced as he felt the kitsune inside grow agitated with feral, territorial instincts, thinking warily that perhaps he should not have told his other side. The thought was quickly reprimanded by the Youko within, who told him that he had every right to know what went inside _his _hideout. The flash of gold turned to an almost brilliant streak, and he turned to face "Enma Jr."

"Koenma. Why is Keila in the—old den?" he asked in an icy, even tone.

The pacifier-sucking ruler fidgeted, obviously trying to avoid something. "To resurrect someone."

The look he recieved needed no words to empower it.

"Kuronue."

Youko's surprise caught Suiichi off-guard, and he heedlessly obliged to the fox demon's will. Silver cascaded down the 17-year-old's red hair like lightning upon a blood-red sky, extending—as did his height. The boy had grown at least another foot. A bushy silver tail sprouted, and his clothing changed to the white articles of Youko Kurama. Once-green eyes now glowed with a golden hue. His voice had altered, as well.

"WHERE IS KEILA?"

Hiei scowled at all this from his spot on the windowsill (Rafters? Pick a..high up place for him to be..).

"Hn. Stupid fox..."

---

Kuronue: SAVE MEEEEE!

Me: O.o; HOW DID YOU GET FREE!?!? gags him and shoves him in a closet

Pairings: Maybe.

Good romance if there are pairings? Very doubtful.

That's all, folks! ::laughs like an idiot::


	4. Violet eyes

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYY!! IT SNUUUUOOOOOOWEEDD!! HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!! THE SNOW DANCE WORDKEEEEED!! HAPPY SNOWFALL!! ^-^  
  
(changed the summy a bit, just to let you guys know)  
  
I know that the chapters have been short and all, but I *promise* to make them longer!! Or at least a lot longer than chapters one and two!  
  
This chap, like most of the others, is going to be weird!! Yay!! *applauds* ^_^ Japanese and English words are mixzeed up!!  
  
Disclaimer: Me don't own nuttin! HEEHEE!! DOUBLE NEGATIVE EQUALS A POSITIVE! SO THERE! I OWN IT!! *dog stares at me~goes back to sleep*  
  
Me: *still in denial* I OWN IT! I OWN IT!!! *ignored* -_-"  
  
My doogie!:*snore*..zzzz..liiiaaarr...zzzzzz  
  
Me: HEY!! I HEARD THAT!!  
  
~~~~~~~ New Reviewers:  
  
^-^ yay! Fire Gemron back! *grins*  
  
Hellooo! Little Minamino! Yay! K/B!  
  
Harpy girl: TANK YOOU!! *happy*  
  
Sorry I didn't update sooner! I had a lotta projects due, and I'm a procrastinator at skool fer sure. I still manage to get higher than a B+, thoough!! *proud of self* ^_^;; plus, I have midterms coming up, etc..  
  
List of Current Doom:  
  
Midterms  
  
Tech Test  
  
Spanish Quiz  
  
English quiz  
  
Two poems for English  
  
Math Test  
  
Science test  
  
American History thing  
  
Science project  
  
Science fair  
  
Final for science, cause I'm *accelerated* -_-;;. . .BAAAAH!!  
  
Etc, etc. . .*sob* x_X  
  
BUT GUESS WHAT!!?? YU YU HAKUSHO IS BACK ON CARTOONNETWORK!! YAY!! I should be studying..but..OH WELL! SCREW THE MIDTERMS!! HAIL THE NEW YEAR!! *sees calendar* . . . . .HAIL THE NEW YEAR TWO WEEKS AGO!!  
  
I've made a few changes and added stuff to the earlier chappies, and I especially added stuff to the last chapter because Kurama transforming and all that seemed to sudden..  
  
. . .um. . .I'm pretty sure that I've forgotten something here. . .hmmm..-_- ;; oh well..i'll remember later!  
  
You can still tell me what couples you want and what's going to happen and stuff, k?! you can do that until I say stop! ^_^; (unless the character you want to vote about is dead..)  
  
~~~  
  
And now for the story:  
  
********  
  
~"Hn. Stupid fox.."~  
  
Hiei scowled at the various types of demons as they passed through the enormous prison of Reikai. All of them shrieked and jeered as the Tantei walked past, uttering foul curses in several different languages. All were incompetent; either for being weaklings or for being captured.  
  
Every single one of them were soon silenced, however, by the appearance of the supposedly "dead" legendary thief of Makai and Reikai snarling at them. Along with a few death glares and a glowing third eye, of course.  
  
At the very end of the last corridor, a large, scratched, diamond door set in titanium and covered in wards filled the hall, a series of loud crashes and booms erupting from inside. Hiei scowled again, then sneered. The basilisk was weaker than he had thought. Only an amateur would use up so much spirit energy to emit such inefficient attacks.  
  
Apparently, Koenma had seen the reptilian demon as a fairly powerful being. The cell was one of the strongest in Reikai, though obviously it would never manage to contain anyone much stronger than. . .Kuwabara, for a rather weak (in Hiei's opinion) example, could have probably escaped the prison with his abilities- if he had had a correctly functioning brain. Which he (Kuwabara) didn't.  
  
The Reikai's ruler had finally discovered the symbols to unlock the bespelled door. It swung open to reveal a pacing figure muttering yet another incoherent incantation, unaware of his "visitors."  
  
"Domiro. . .regtuquan. . .ECLETENI—" (A/N: just made that up! Doesn't it sound preettyfull?!) The door swung shut with an ominous finality.  
  
Kurama strode forward and gripped the basilisk tightly by its scaly throat before the spell could be completed. The human-gone-demon glared coldly at the scaly being writhing in his grasp, his silky tail lashing out angrily behind him. As always, Youko got straight to the point; Suiichi watching curiously from in the corner of his mind.  
  
"Who sent you? What have you done to Kuronue's burial place?" golden eyes flashed dangerously as Kurama loosened his grip the slightest bit, waiting for the questions to be answered.  
  
Keila let out a short rasping laugh, his mouth dry from the series of words he had spoken. "Bat. Dead. Master. . ." here the glassy eyed demon let out another dry cough, then snickered knowingly at the spirit detectives assembled in the chamber. "Master says. . .do not tell ugly, stupid, *ignorant* tanteis." He accentuated each 's' and grinned at them, his fangs glittering and forked tongue flicking; looking very similar to the rabid animals so common in Ningenkai "Especssially soon to be dead foxss!" the basilisk demon seemed to find this hilarious, and his hyena-like cackles echoed about while the other occupants of the room stared.  
  
"Who is this master?" the kitsune growled, resuming the strangulation of the seemingly crazed basilisk, shoving him three feet up the wall. "Tell me.."  
  
Hiei snorted. "Do not kill him while he still has information, fox." His advice was ignored for the most part, and none of the others dared to go near, not willing to start an unneeded battle among teammates.  
  
However, when the other demon did not respond, Kurama threw him down in disgust. "Hiei. . .use your Jagan." it was really more of an order than a question, but the fire demon complied and removed his well worn bandanna; his face etched into a cold mask of slight contempt, implanted third eye glowing eerily in the dimly lit room.  
  
Hiei concentrated, scowled, and then shut his eyes. A few minutes later, the koorime reopened his eyes, blinked, than shut them again. There were strong mental barriers surrounding the basilisk's mind, even though they had been put up by another. As a matter of fact, that demon who *had* put up the shielding spell was amazingly powerful and was almost certainly *not* Keila. The many traps set inside his head were overwhelming, and Hiei left the other demon's conscience abruptly, partially because he wanted to escape and partially because he sensed someone right in front of him.  
  
He opened his eyes to find an ugly person leering in his face.  
  
"YO!! SHRIMP! YOU STILL IN THERE??" Kuwabara hollered into his disgruntled teammate's ear. When Hiei did nothing but glare, the orange haired teenager struck an ungainly pose, assuming that his victim was having trouble inside Keila's brain. "I, the Great Kazuma Kuwabara-" Botan tugged on his arm, her eyes wide.  
  
"Now, now, I really don't think that you should-"  
  
Kurama interrupted, "I truly disagree. By all means, let Kazuma continue his attempt." The kitsune bared his teeth in a sort of smile. ". . . I could use the entertainment. . ."  
  
Kuwabara took this as an encouragement. "I, the great Kazuma Kuwabara, SHALL BRING SHORTY BACK TO LIFE!!" He finished his declaration, plopped down, and peered into the koorime's crimson eyes. Hiei's left eye twitched in annoyance, and Youko's tails swished in anticipation, a rather evil look crossing his face as he watched a certain spirit detective fly into a wall, unconscious.  
  
"Do not disturb me." With that, the fire demon's eyes snapped shut again.  
  
Yusuke doubled over, former tension gone, laughter consuming him. "HAHAHAAAA!!! Tha. . .that MORON! . . . HAAAHAAAAA-" He paused to gasp for breath. Koenma frowned at this inappropriate behavior.  
  
"Yusuke, you are *not* supposed to laugh when one of your own is knocked out." He hinted disapprovingly.  
  
". . .but it was *funny!*. . ."  
  
This was heard fuzzily by the telepathic demon in their midst. He had discovered the smallest opening in the mental shield, and was struggling to force a thin steady tendril of his power into it. If he succeeded in getting enough energy through the barrier, he'd be able to literally crack it from the inside out. A little more. . .and. . .there! Any obstacle that had been placed inside the basilisk demon's mentality had now crumbled to nothing.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In the physical world, Keila, who had been leaning crookedly against the wall, was clawing at his head while Yusuke and Botan tried to restrain him from committing suicide. Kurama observed the yelling trio idly, not quite caring what happened to the disturber of his partner's grave, even with Suiichi willing him to assist them. Shrieks of protest floated around as Hiei investigated the corridors of his mind.  
  
"No. . .Get out... MASTER!! I AM SORRY! S-"  
  
Far, far away, a pair of violet eyes surveyed his agonized servant. "Sorry. . .tch. . .I'm sorry too. . .so, so sorry. But an apology alone will not do. . ." Slender fingers made a sharp, twisting movement, and Keila fell limp.  
  
Dead.  
  
**********************  
  
Kuronue bobbed and twisted around in midair, deciding that he had been condemned by Enma to a life-time of living in a black foggy cage. He still hadn't even explored the entire cell, and suspected that it stretched around to annoy him. The former thief nearly pulled his dark hair out of his scalp in frustration.  
  
He couldn't get out of the god-forsaken cell.  
  
He had no idea where he was.  
  
Kurama was gone.  
  
He was apparently a hostage or prisoner.  
  
HE'D LOST HIS NECKLACE!!  
  
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!! LEMME OUT!!" The chimera clenched his fists, and voiced his frustration by screaming at the top of his lungs. If he couldn't get his freedom, then he could at least make his captor deaf in both ears.  
  
"AYE!! SHUTTUP!" the shout came from somewhere above him, and the bat demon glanced up to see a glum looking red-headed elf (A/N: I'm not really sure if he's an elf. . .I'm going by what I've read in sycogerl64's fic (read her ficcie! Its good!). . .) with a single horn in the center of his forehead. "Yer makin me deaf!"  
  
"And who might you be, hornhead?" Kuronue folded his wings and crossed his arms, secretly glad of a companion, but also irritated at the interruption of his screaming session. He inspected this newly discovered being at an arm's length. The pointy eared prisoner appeared to be lugging a blue green bundle over his shoulder.  
  
"Hornhead?" the elf raised an eyebrow. "Me name is Jin! And who might you be, batty? Where have ye been ta not have heard of me?" his fellow cell- mate glared sullenly.  
  
"Kuronue. *Why* should I have heard of you? Are you famous?"  
  
Jin stared at him. "Yer serious, aint ya? Ye must be really b'hind, then. . ."  
  
************************  
  
That was my. . . . interesting attempt at humor. . . .I find Kuwabara getting knocked unconscious very funny for some reason..  
  
^_^ JIN!! I dunno why I stuck him in there..I just love him!! He so cute!! *hug*  
  
Did you like my chappie? It was a little longer than usual!! (kinda..)  
  
Reviews are fun! So send them (please)!!!  
  
Have a merry snow day! (and a Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday!!) I love Martin Luther King .. 


	5. Memories

Disclaimer: I DISclaim it. That enough for ya??  
  
Kuronue:*still sulking because he got resurrected and kidnapped*  
  
"Blue-green bundle": zzzzz.....  
  
Does that give you a hint to what it is?? Guess not..x_X  
  
Oh..And ***blah blah blah*** means flashbacks, memories, and that kind of stuff! (Because I *still* haven't figured out how ta get stupid ITALICS!!!) *tortured look*  
  
Review things are at the bottom!! *points down*  
  
Sorry if Jin's accent is off! I missed that episode and I dun have enough mangas! T.T. . .  
  
*******************  
  
~"Yer serious, aint ya? Ye must be really b'hind, then. . ."~  
  
"Or maybe you're just not as famous as you think." The chimera retorted.  
  
Jin chuckled as he floated upside-down around the dark cell. Definitely a wind demon. (A/N: from now on Jin will be a wind demon *and* and elf, okee? ^-^;;) "Maybe, an' mebbe not!" was his irritatingly cheerful reply. "Ye said tha' yer name was Kuronue? Named afta Kurama's partner, right?"  
  
The former thief squinted at the elf. "Not quite. . . I *am* Youko Kurama's partner."  
  
"But you're dead!" Jin poked one of the bat demon's leathery wings experimentally, half expecting to see his hand go through.  
  
"No," Kuronue said, edging away from the elf's probing fingers. "I'm not. Do I look dead?"  
  
"Nay. But ye should be,"  
  
The bat demon wasn't sure if the comment was meant literally, or as an insult. "*Why* would I be dead?"  
  
"'Cause the hunters killed ya!"  
  
"WHAT!?!?" the he gaped openly at the wind demon.  
  
"Everyone knows the story! I was 'bout a hundred an' twenty when it happened. . ."  
  
. . . .And so, Kuronue learned the tale of he and his partner's demise.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Reikai Tantei gathered in the prison cell gawped at the body lying limp on the shiny metal floor.  
  
Koenma nudged the corpse gently with his foot. "*Hiei* . . . what'd you do. . ."  
  
"Hn. . .Nothing. Someone in one of the other worlds killed him when they realized that I was searching through his mind."  
  
Yusuke snickered, "Great. So our captive is dead, and we're basically lost."  
  
Hiei gave him a scornful look. "No. I discovered some information in Keila's mind. I'm not as stupid as you." The koorime continued before someone else could interrupt (particularly Yusuke and his wrath), "He cast a spell on Kuronue's body. He's alive."  
  
-  
  
Hiei wouldn't lie.  
  
He's alive. . .  
  
Kurama stared straight ahead, in shock.  
  
Kuronue had been his friend.  
  
His ally, his partner.  
  
His family, after his family was killed by poachers.  
  
Kuronue had been his brother.  
  
Then the chimera had died.  
  
But now . . .he was back in the world of the living.  
  
Alive...  
  
-  
  
Youko only heard a hushed version of a grown-up toddler's screaming. "ONE OF THE GREATEST THEIVES OF ALL TIME IS WANDERING AROUND OUT THERE!?!?" A faint knock came at the diamond hinged door, and a vaguely featured blue head popped up from the other side of the thick gem. Jorge's voice called out.  
  
"MR. KOENMA!?!? KOENMA-SAMA?? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I HAVE SOME URGENT NEWS FOR YOU! THE DEMON K-" The pacifier-sucking teenager opened the chamber's door and glared at the pale blue ogre.  
  
"Kuronue. I. Know. No thanks to you. . ."  
  
Koenma's employee's brow furrowed. "Kuronue? You know that sightings of Karasu have been reported in Ningenkai?"  
  
". . . . . " the ruler of the spirit world fell over in a dead faint.  
  
"Uhh . . . sir..?" Botan and a horde of ogres hurried forward and attempted to revive him as a bemused kitsune looked on, wondering at the irony of the situation, and reliving ancient memories.  
  
The fox demon's greatest friend had been revived . . . and so had one of his worst enemies.  
  
***Soft, silver-white fur . . . Mother. Another furry white body settled nearby. Sister. Father hunted outside. . . A bark of warning suddenly rippled through the peaceful silence of the serene meadow, and a booming crack sounded. Once. Twice. Sister whined, and Mother padded outside to check on Father. Silence again, and another loud noise echoed through the densely clustered trees.  
  
Some time later, Sister decided to venture out. She never returned, nor did Mother and Father  
  
All that greeted the last young fox the next morning was the red-stained earth and a rancid odor. He yipped mournfully, and took a few tentative steps forward. A hole appeared beneath his tiny paws, and he fell forward.  
  
The silver kit's ears flicked back, and he tucked his tail around himself, bewildered. Glancing up, his blinking golden eyes spotted a round face with large orange eyes peering down at him. The face grinned, its ears molding themselves into points, like the diminutive fangs in its mouth. The fox tilted his head to one side, not quite sure what was going on.  
  
"Haku! Look what I've found!"  
  
"What is it your majesty?" Another face appeared, this one older and more creased than the last.  
  
"It's so *adorable*!!!" Do you think Papa will let me keep him?"  
  
"The king does not like animals . . . but perhaps he may change his mind if the request is yours."  
  
"He's so pretty! Papa will have to say yes! I won't have it otherwise. . ." ***  
  
Another memory, sometime later. . .  
  
*** "DAMNED ANIMAL! GET OUT! OUT! OUT!!!" An enraged elfin king roared at the slender, fleeing silver shape before him. "A . . . AAAACHHOOOOOOOO!! . . . DAMNATION! CURSED ANIMAL!" the shaking king was a rather lovely shade of violet and red, and he sneezed again . . . courtesy of his allergies.  
  
It had been several hundred years since his daughter had brought the fox into his castle, and he could hardly stand it. Even the best doctors could not remove his allergic reactions.  
  
"CHRISTA!"  
  
"Yes, father. I'm here. I'll take Sparkle back to my room." The beautiful dark-haired princess sighed, and half dragged the quivering fox out from beneath the king's jewel encrusted throne. The sleek animal threw the enraged royal one last look of resentment as Christa pulled him out on a straining leash.  
  
The following day, the Makai fox made another escape attempt. After gnawing at the offending leather leash for a few hours, it snapped, and he was left with only a collar and a thin strip of hide still attached. Relishing the freedom, he bounded out through the open doors, across the creaking drawbridge, and into the welcoming emerald forest, where he belonged.  
  
Nobody to ridiculously call him "Sparkle," no hollering, long-living elves. . . Things went quite well well for the next few months. Until one winter day, the unsuspecting fox stepped upon a steel-toothed trap.  
  
*Snap*  
  
The object had caught his right hind leg in its tight metal jaws, and no amount of pulling would remove it.  
  
Snowflakes began to slowly drift down from the thick clouds above. The fox glared at them in frustration. He had *not* lived for over a hundred years, only to be caught and killed by a poorly crafted snare.  
  
The sunlight dimmed, and he began to feel the cold, despite his thick fur. The silver coated creature curled up, laid his head over his paws, and went to sleep, weariness overcoming him. It seemed that he was condemned to death.  
  
---------  
  
Cold. Very, very cold. And warm at the same time. . .the fox cautiously opened one eye, and his ears swiveled about. He was covered by a blanket, which was appreciated for its warmth. However, his field of vision was obscured by it.  
  
A good shake of his damp fur shook the woolen cloth off, and golden eyes took in the sights about his "person." A crackling fire, a pile of more blankets and sheets, chopped wood in a corner, and. . .in the very back of the cavern was a small, carefully hidden mountain of sparkling items. Fascinated, the fox dived into the heap. This was where he was still amusing himself when his rescuer returned.  
  
A dark-haired demon (obviously a demon) with large folded wings strode in and plucked the curious animal out of his playground. "*That* would be my loot. Which you're not supposed play in," He deposited the still damp, furry lump back in front of the fire, and received a glare in return. ". . . You're not an ordinary fox. Are you? Spirit fox?" A nod of a furry head answered him.  
  
Yes.  
  
"So . . . what is your name . . .?" ***  
  
"Kurama. . .Kurama. . . . . .KURAMA! I ORDER YOU TO WAKE UP!!" Koenma had come out of his unconscious state, and Kuwabara had, as well. "It's about time! I have been yelling in your ear for the last minute or so!" Enma Daioh's son was perched perilously on a tall wooden stool.  
  
"For your next assignment you must locate Karasu and Kuronue. Some other residents of Makai have been kidnapped, too, and Karasu is suspected to have commited these kidnappings because of the smoke and marks of explosions. Kuronue hasn't been sighted at all, so try to find him if you can. But most importantly, FIND KARASU. . ."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jin finished his tale, and waited for a response.  
  
"So. . . I really died. That whole thing..It wasn't a dream . . . But I'm here. Lord Enma must really like me!"  
  
The elf floating nearby raised an eyebrow. "Nay. Enma had nothing ta do with this! I'm not dead!" The blue-green object slug over his shoulder suddenly slid off during a moment of forgetfulness. "Oops.."  
  
The object landed on one of the walls, which surprisingly didn't move underneath its weight. The cloth covering around it turned out to be a shirt, and a slightly bloodied face was revealed.  
  
"That's a person?" Kuronue asked incredulously.  
  
His cellmate grinned sheepishly. "That'd be my teammate, Touya. . .he did na' like bein' kidnapped. . ."  
  
*****************  
  
Well, that chapter was definitely OOC. Not sure where, though . . . Maybe it's the part where Youko Kurama gets all sappy. . .O.O;; the memories were kind of screwy, but..i'm not that good at that T.T  
  
I'm not really sure if foxes stay together after having their little people. . .-_-. . . just pretend that foxes in Makai are different!  
  
I had no new reviewer people last chap. . .T_T  
  
Oh well..  
  
*pokes Karasu's eyeball*  
  
Karasu: AAAAUUUUUGGGHHHH!!!  
  
. . . They are purple, right? O.O  
  
R&R! 


	6. Searching

My Excuses:  
  
~Writer's block  
  
~SKOOL  
  
~FOOD  
  
~*sis*  
  
~laziness. *don't kill mee!*  
  
*hides behind a rock* Yes, I grew a rock in my room. ^-^  
  
========================  
  
I give credit to:  
  
ReiKiTantei.net  
  
They have a lot of stuff on Yu Yu Hakusho! (fanfics, character bios, links, art, etc.)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Touya's so cool..^_^;;.. I guess that's why I have him here! Plus I like his hair and his outfit! Its sparkly! *_*..kinda  
  
SNOW!!! SNOW!! SNUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOWWW!! YAY!! Or at least there was when I started typing this..O.o by now its probably been melted away by all the stupid rain T_T  
  
Disclaimer: Disclaimed. . . Obviously.  
  
I've just realized that I put R&R at the end of the last chappie.. then I remembered that R&R means read and review..and you would've of *had* to read the chapter in order to see the R&R at the bottom.. Just wanted to let everybody know!  
  
Oh, the idiocy of me! ^__^  
  
Guess what? I got the original story bookie for Peter Pan! I wish I could fly.. *climbs a tree and jumps out*  
  
think happy thoughts..think happy thoughts *imagines her math teacher drowning, than coming back as a zombie*. . . . AAAAAAAGGHHHH!  
  
*large crater in the ground* x.x ~ @_@  
  
So much for that.. *dog calls ambulance in the background*  
  
# blah # =location  
  
*******  
  
# the stretchy little cell # ^.~  
  
~"That'd be my teammate, Touya. . . He did na' like bein' kidnapped. . ."~  
  
The slight figure below let out a small moan. "Ughh. . ." Jin swooped down and scooped up his comrade; Kuronue watched from some distance away, the black fog clouding his already dark features. He had encountered another character from the diminutive ice demon's clan. In the chimera's experience, they tended to be a bit. . .jumpy around strangers. His master, who had apparently sired this "Touya" had made him a remarkable fighter in the three months that they'd been together.  
  
Touya groaned again as he regained consciousness, and noticed his surroundings. "Let go of me.. Jin. . . where the hell are we?" He noticed the wraith-like bat demon hovering in the shadows. "Who is that. . .?" Immediately on guard, he jerked--or rather, floated quickly-- into an upright position.  
  
Jin sighed, his pointy ears twitching. It was time for another explanation.  
  
* o O o *  
  
*********  
  
# umm..the streets? #  
  
FIND KARASU. . .  
  
Koenma's words echoed in his head.  
  
How was he supposed to do that?  
  
Yusuke Urameshi, veteran spirit detective, wandered down the street mumbling random curses at life in general. Another mission, another stupid demon to chase, and more idiotic complaints from a little toddler who practically lived in his office.  
  
Great.  
  
"Yusuke! Yusuke!!!" He heard a familiar, huffing voice as Keiko ran up to him. "Yusuke Urameshi! Where have you been? You've missed school for the last two weeks! Mr. Takenaka won't put up with you forever, you know!"  
  
Her close friend made an unattractive face. "Takenaka can go shove his-" Keiko glared at him.  
  
"Just because you're part of the Reikai Tantei now doesn't mean that you can skip your education! Even Kuwabara thinks so!"  
  
Her long-time crush snorted, "Yeah? And when's the last time that you saw dear Kazuma in school?" Keiko flushed an angry red.  
  
"That's not the point!" she protested. "You—Botan!" A perky grim reaper perched upon a large oar smiled back.  
  
"I'm sorry, Keiko! But I've come to take Yusuke on another mission!"  
  
The girl brushed back her brown hair, and gave her (guy!) friend one last pleading look as he more or less ran away. "Be careful. . .AND DON"T YOU DARE GET KILLED!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
# Kuwabara Residence #  
  
She placed a final piece of lettuce upon a piece of ham, topped it with more bread, and scowled at the cat food littering the floor. She despised Eikichi at times, despite his adorableness. "BRO! CLEAN UP YOU'RE CAT'S JUNK!" Kazuma scampered down into the kitchen, and clumsily swept the crumbs into a cracked dustpan. After disposing of the litter, he turned back to face his older sister.  
  
"Neeeee-san," the taller member of the Kuwabara household said, sidling closer to his sibling. Shizuru didn't even turn around, determined not to be distracted from her sandwich.  
  
"What."  
  
"May I go on a mission with-"  
  
"HELL, NO!"  
  
"But Koenma, Botan-"  
  
"No."  
  
"and Urameshi, and-"  
  
"No."  
  
"Kurama, and the Shrimp-"  
  
"NO."  
  
"Pleeeease?" Kazuma wheedled desperately.  
  
"NO, DAMMIT!!! If mom finds out you got beat up again, my ass'll be on the line, not yours! Remember the freakin Tournament!" an exasperated Shizuru stalked out of the kitchen, a spirit detective on her heels.  
  
"Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaase!?!? It's my duty! Say yes! Pleeeeeee-" his whining earned him a punch on the head.  
  
"Shuttup, baka!" she tossed a heavy book at him.  
  
"Ow! But-"  
  
"NO!!!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"NO!" she snarled, and grabbed the front of his shirt forcefully. "Listen. The only way that you're ever going on another mission for that little fuckin toddler is if I get to come and whoop your ass into next year! If you get hurt, I'LL EXECUTE YOU! " her brother cowered before her.  
  
"*Ahem*" a soft cough interrupted them. "Ahh..Shizuru! How nice to see you!" Once again, the deity of death had rescued one of Koenma's employees. "Actually, Shizuru, you *could* come on this mission, if you wish. Your spirit-awareness may actually be an asset to the Reikai Tantei!" the elder Kuwabara frowned slightly. She hadn't actually expected to be allowed to go. . . not that she *wanted* to. she just had to keep an eye on Kazuma no baka-san.  
  
"Fine. You can go. But if mom finds out 'bout you getting beat up.." she let the statement trail off ominously.  
  
"Ma-taku? Reeeally?"  
  
"Uuuggh..shuttup, you crackhead."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
(A/N: *waves* hello! You might've noticed that I skipped Hiei and Kurama. I did that because Hiei. . . ya know! And I couldn't think of what dear Suiichi would say.. sooo. . .just pretend that he made a wonderful excuse and his mom and step-dad said yes! ^__^;)  
  
# Makai #  
  
"Okay, so are you all ready?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Yes, Botan."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"mm hmm.."  
  
"Hn.."  
  
". . . alright, then. . .Koenma-sama's information says that Karasu has, fortunately for us, only been sighted in Makai, and not Ningenkai. So, we only have to search this world, and this area, where most of the witnesses live." She gestured vaguely at a large map. "My plan was that we could all split up. . ."  
  
*************************  
  
A/N: well, that part was pretty much pointless! ^_^;;;  
  
****************************  
  
# more stretchy cell! #  
  
Touya staggered after hearing Jin's second explanation that day–as much as you could stagger while floating in the air- to his feet, pausing to swipe at a trickle of blood on his forehead. He snarled, "What. The. Fuck." Kuronue grinned, finding the whole situation somewhat funny, despite their captivity.  
  
"Yes, we're stuck in a stretchy little cell that is nearly impossible to break." He told the ice demon wryly. The shinobi smiled thinly. "We'll see about that. . ." he whirled around to face a less fogged wall. Behind him, Jin made a face, knowing what his teammate would attempt.  
  
"MATEKI SANDAN SHYAAA!!! (Ice whistle)" multiple shards of ice rocketed towards the opaque barrier-and shattered.  
  
"Damn. . .!"  
  
A snicker escaped from Kuronue's throat. "I've tried that, and fang-boy over here probably has, too. The most I got was a tiny crack."  
  
The ice demon managed to look scornful and curious at the same time. "What attacks have you used?"  
  
The chimera put a hand to his chest in mock surprise. "Why would I, a thief, use an *attack*? I merely used my tools!"  
  
"Then what were your tools?"  
  
"My body-" this earned him a dismissive snort. "And a small knife I stole from Enma."  
  
"Enma?" Jin, who had been unusually silent until then, spoke up, a skeptical note in his voice. "Younger, or olda?" he'd learned of the toddler lord from Yusuke, and did not think much of him. The demon to whom the question had been addressed blinked.  
  
Younger. . .? There was only one Enma Daioh! "Err. . . the large one?" he guessed.  
  
A low whistle of admiration. "Then ye *was* a good thief!"  
  
"Waddaya mean,*was*!?!?"  
  
"Show us where the crack is," Touya interrupted their belligerent conversation.  
  
"I don't remember! Have you *seen* how this thing works? It's like half- solid rubber!!"  
  
"But it's *small* rubber. If we go around without touching the walls we should be able to spot it. Use your ki to light up dark areas."  
  
"Alright. . ." Kuronue flapped off reluctantly, complying only because he had nothing better to do.  
  
"I s'pose that I have no choice in this 'ere conv'sation?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
********  
  
*rereads* hmm...I dun like this chappie! -_-;;  
  
Oh well...sucks fer me! If I hold up with the story any longer, I'll feel guilty..so here ya go!  
  
Oh, and guess what! (you don't really need to know this) I GOT TWO MORE MANGAS OF FUSHIGI YUGI! HAHAHAAAA!! YAY! The only problem is.. one of them is number 5 and the other is number 7! I feel so stupid. . . -_-  
  
Flames welcomed! If you gimme them, they'll count as reviews..and then I'll insult you in my next chapter! HAAHAHAHAAAA! ^_____^ Just kidding! I don't really care. . . if this is bad enough to flame, ya should! Or if its mean other people can just see how much of an ass you are! ^-^  
  
See ya'll next chap! 


	7. Sister?

YO YO YO! WADDUP, DOG? ^________^;;  
  
*cough*  
  
Soo. . . how do you like my ficcie so far? Do ya like? *pats the cabinet she stuffed Kuronue into* you like it, dontcha?  
  
Kuronue: No. LEMME OUT! SET ME FREEEEEEE!!!  
  
*cabinet rattles loudly*  
  
Me: *shoves it into the fireplace* there we go!  
  
------------  
  
Oh! And I just noticed that I forgot Puu somewhere! Lets just pretend that he never existed, okee?  
  
Puu: PUU! : (  
  
Me: . . .-_-;; SHUDDAP YA RABID FURBIE!  
  
Puu: O.O  
  
Me: ^_^ *pets puu. . .that sound weird. . .*  
  
-------------------------------------------  
  
Disclaimed. Yoshihiro Togashi. See other chappies for other stuff.  
  
Help:  
  
Yukina is living with Genkai. (correct me if I'm wrong)  
  
Is Hina dead? (she's Hiei and Yukina's mummy!!!)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
*@.@* I HATE SCIENCE!!! Finals, projects, etc. . . . I have the coolest teacher, BUT I HATE THE DAMN CLASS! X.x  
  
************  
  
# Makai ~ Dagger Cliff #  
  
~ "My plan was that we could all split up. . ."~  
  
Run.  
  
Stop.  
  
Scowl.  
  
Run.  
  
Leap.  
  
Climb.  
  
Scale.  
  
Jump.  
  
Look.  
  
Scowl.  
  
Sneer.  
  
*swish*  
  
*splatter*  
  
"AAAAAGGhhh. . ."  
  
Hiei wiped his red-stained sword, sheathed it, and tossed a fifth corpse over the edge of the rocky, moss covered cliff.  
  
The first had tried to kill him.  
  
The next two; rob him of his katana.  
  
The fourth had obscenely cursed, which – of course- deserved punishment.  
  
The last had fled, leaving his comrades' bodies behind.  
  
Coward.  
  
Oh, well. He was dead now.  
  
The koorime idly watched the deceased bandits drift down the foaming river, and set off once again at a mild pace, all three eyes scanning the horizon. The visible two watched for living beings; the hidden Jagan through the unsuspecting being's mind for useful information.  
  
It was going to be a long, irritatingly boring day in Makai.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
# Blood's Inn #  
  
Youko Kurama and Suiichi Minamino had come to an agreement. The kitsune could take charge, as long as he took care to listen to the advice given to him by his ningen half. And in place of his "normal" white garments, the kitsune youkai had donned a less vain outfit.  
  
A simple black cloak concealed all but his feet, which he chose to keep bare and unhindered. A combination of Trisap (A/N: I made that up! ^_^) and ground rosewood had darkened his silver-white complexion and hair to a duller gray, though it would wash off in cold water. The only attribute he had not been able to alter was his height, which was, by demon standard, only medium. His build was unchangeable, as well as a few other traits.  
  
Nonetheless, to most he was recognized merely as a shabbily dressed, but handsome demon. Few would even think to compare him to the great thief of the past.  
  
He strode into the dank inn, placed himself upon a worn stool, and some money upon the counter.  
  
"What would ye like?"  
  
"Sake. . ."  
  
Unfortunately, Youko was still very fond of certain drinks.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
# Somewhere in Makai #  
  
"Urameshi, where the hell are we?"  
  
"Err. . ."  
  
"Nani!?!? Yusuke! Have you gotten us lost?"  
  
"No! . . . at least I hope not. . ."  
  
"You moron. Botan, you have your little oar. Go do your thing," Shizuru ordered. The cheerful deity nodded and flew off into the wispy clouds above.  
  
"There's a little stream up ahead," she called from her hovering perch, " only about a quarter of a mile away! There's a cottage, too! Follow me!" Botan soared away, the hem of her pink kimono flapping.  
  
------------------------------------------  
  
# Stretchy cell! #  
  
"No. . .no. . .no . . .nooo. . . . . . . . . . . . ."  
  
"What is it? Have you found something?"  
  
Kuronue stared at a small spot on the wall in front of him. "No. but I've definitely seen that little white speck before." Touya sweatdropped.  
  
"I think you're getting bored. Maybe you should come look over here," he indicated an area a few feet away.  
  
"Nope. Already looked there."  
  
"What was we lookin fer again?"  
  
"A crack in the wall. Really thin."  
  
". . .I saw something like that a while ago!"  
  
"How long ago?"  
  
"An hour or so."  
  
"Jin,"  
  
"Aye?"  
  
"I'm going to kill you."  
  
-----------  
  
# little cottage place #  
  
Botan leapt lightly off her oar and turned to face the rest of the slightly panting crew. "Ta-da! Isn't it pretty? I wonder who built it," she exclaimed. The neat thatched roof shone in the sunlight, and its open shutters revealed small, but nicely decorated rooms.  
  
Her orange-haired friend glanced around nervously. "I don't know about that, Botan. . .I got that creepy feelin that someone's here. . "  
  
"My, my, isn't he smart." A sarcastic voice purred. "I'm surprised you didn't notice sooner!" a pale, slender fox lounging on a boulder stood, stretched and trotted towards them. Kuwabara stared. And screamed.  
  
"AAAAAHHHHH!!! IT'S A POSSESED TALKING FOX!"  
  
"Shaddap, ya moron," Yusuke told him, "it's just a spirit fox, like Kurama."  
  
The kitsune's eyes widened. She glowed for a moment, and somewhat disturbing changes began. The whiskered snout shrunk into a face, and the light fur covering her body fell away, revealing a plain, white, silk kimono instead. After finishing her morph into her demonic form, which was that of a beautiful young fox demon, she turned and gazed at them pleadingly with large golden eyes.  
  
"Kurama. . .? You know my brother?"  
  
==================================  
  
Hikaru Kosuzaku: O.o;; NOO! *dodges bassoons*  
  
To syco: you saw the movie!?!?!? *jealous* NO FAIR! T_T Update your ficcie soon! Please?? For mee? ^__^;;  
  
---------------------------------  
  
I wanna see Peter Pan!  
  
---------------------------------  
  
HAHAHAAAAA!! Cliffie!  
  
I PROMISE I WILL MAKE THE NEXT CHAPPIE LONGER FOR YOU! Especially with my lovely vacation coming up! ^-^  
  
DONE! I know, it's a weirdly disconnected chapter. But I wanted to put it up on Valentine's day! Happy Heart Day! ^_^  
  
*hugs Kurama* . . .*-* . . . will you be my valentiiiine?  
  
Kurama: O.O;; *runs away*  
  
HAVA HAPPY V-DAY!  
  
I LOVE YOU ALL! 


	8. More explanations, Taisei, and the Dread

Chapter 8: More explanations, Taisei, and the Dreadful Hag ****************   
  
Disclaimer: Disclaimed. NOT MINE! Yoshihiro Togashi's   
  
As usual, I'm late. ^__________^;;;   
  
O.O *don't kill meeee!!!*   
  
~~~~~~~~~~   
  
I *did* make this chappie a little longer, though! ...not really...^-^ It took me forever to update, but I did! *munches on salad that has a gallon of extra dressing on the bottom of the bowl*   
  
I stink at making salads. . .   
  
~~~~~~~~~   
  
*Japanese vocabulary on the bottom*   
  
***blah blah blah*** = memories, flashbacks, etc.   
  
~blah blah blah~ = prologues, epilogues, etc.   
  
# blah # = location   
  
/blah/ = mental thoughts. No, they are not schizophrenic. ^-^   
  
~~~~~~~~~   
  
Another good yu yu hakusho site: www.spiritdetectivecom credit to JDfielding for the tippy in her fic! His fic? -.-;; (READ IT/THEM)   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
# Makai #   
  
# Little woodsy place . . . #   
  
~ "Kurama . . .? You know my brother?" ~   
  
The Reikai Tantei and company goggled at the kitsune standing before them. Botan blinked, than whipped out her communicator. "Ahh. . . Koenma-sama?"   
  
The screen fuzzed over, than cleared to show a busy toddler repeatedly stamping multiple papers, a single word printing itself across the glass.   
  
"O-U-T"   
  
The deity sweatdropped, and snapped the object shut. "He's not going to be much help!"   
  
"I call myself Kinzoku Kitsune." the demon bowed slightly, kneeled, and swept up the herbs by her feet. After a careful inspection, she held them out timidly towards Shizuru, who stared at the plants until she realized that they were a gift, and accepted. When the ningen looked at her expectantly, Kinzoku offered an explanation, fingering the pearl bracelet on her wrist and shifting uneasily from one sandaled foot to another. "Where I was brought up. . . when one wished to become friends or allies, gifts were exchanged. I have not much to spare, but those leaves will heal wounds quickly when soaked in water, should you ever have the misfortune to be injured."   
  
The receiver of her present placed the heavy, almost foam-like leaves in her black backpack, a question forming on her lips. "If you don't have much to spare, where did you get that bracelet?" The youkai glanced at the ornament with a trace of scorn in her expression.   
  
"Petty theft. Stolen objects mean nothing."   
  
"Uh-huh." Shizuru rummaged through her bag, and discovered a chocolate bar that had not yet melted into inedible goo. "Umm. . . here. . . ?" To her surprise, the maiden's face lit up with pleasure.   
  
"So you shall help me find Kurama?"   
  
----------------------   
  
# One of the many dark, scary, creepy caves in Makai #   
  
Hiei trotted aimlessly in random, zigzagging directions, still, not having discovered anyone to bother conversing with. His Jagan eye continued to sweep the everlasting forests. . . Until he felt an indication in a certain wolf demon's mind. Following the signal, he soon came to a dark stone cave that all but said, "DEATH."   
  
Jagged rock formations scattered themselves across the earth, and gray moss- covered boulders towered above. Chunks of crumbled rubble lay about, a sure sign of much training. Withering shrubs and yellowing blades of grass was all that grew, and thick sheets of blackish ice suffocated anything else that dared to sprout. The koorime grimaced inwardly as he entered, much too familiar with the decor- and its source.   
  
"Taisei!" He called out wearily into the gloom. Soft but harsh laughter echoed off the walls, and frozen water crept upwards, forming into a dark gleaming sculpture. The fire demon acted as an audience while the ice melted into a more refined character.   
  
Slabs of the material fell away and shattered. A collection of spikes became visible atop the block. The manipulated demonic energy took on a humanoid form, and when all was complete, Hiei found himself looking into a pair of vacant eyes belonging to the "sculpture."   
  
They were his own.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
(A/N: credit goes ta animerocker, for the character's name, description, etc. Thanks! ^-^)   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
# The shores of Clearwater Lake #   
  
Kurama sighed, sat himself at the shore of Clearwater Lake, and observed the rippling, petite waves dwindle to a flat surface, then rise again. The waters were very well named. The clean, cool water had even been rumored to have magical properties, though there were no actual witnesses or known demons who possessed such knowledge. Leaning his back into the rough bark of a tree, he stretched his legs out before him and crossed them. Every bit of the kitsune was placid and content as could be.   
  
Aside from the small facts that his long-dead best friend was alive, and his worst enemy had also somehow been revived.   
  
The crystal waters reflected the powder blue of the sky, and he cast a lazy glance across the landscape; remotely aware that someone was near.  
  
~  
  
Neon green irises overlapped by cat-like pupils and vertical lids gleamed in anticipation, and a twitching, blue, clawed hand slowly reached out of the bushes towards the (now) gray-furred fox demon's money pouch—then recoiled quickly when the latter stood up. Ill-fated was the pickpocket's choice of prey, for it was none other than the famed Youko Kurama who stood, snatched the aquatic youkai's wrist in a steely grip, and lifted its owner up into the air for disturbing his moment of tranquility, all in less than a blink of an eye.   
  
Youko hurled his victim into the tree which he'd had been leaning on. The dazed individual staggered up, agape, hissing more from anger than pain.   
  
"You'll pay for that, you bas-"   
  
"Be silent." Sharp fangs subconsciously bared themselves. He was in no mood to calmly exchange insults. Brambles erupted threateningly from the earth on either side of the kitsune, their thorns promising a fate of infinite pain.   
  
His adversary snapped his mouth shut, temporarily cowed, and ignorant of the name and reputation of the person he had just attempted to rob.   
  
The fox had a very poor—and sometimes violent—sense of humor, but could not waste time on it at the moment. He tossed the offender into a patch of poisonous Emmert brambles, drew his cloak tighter around himself, and hurried of in a blur of silver tinged gray, leaving nothing but a whirl of dust and a struggling demon behind.   
  
~~~~~~~~~   
  
~When Rinko, the lowly pickpocket, tramped out of the plants at last, he stooped to catch his breath before standing straight and recalling the meeting he'd had. The belligerent youkai he'd encountered had practically glowed with a strange aura. Then, shuddering, he remembered the tales told throughout Makai. The stories of a ferocious band of thieves who had robbed anyone in sight blind as a deaf, dying bat, whose leader had been killed, but described as a "vision of silver light and golden eyes."   
  
The leader had been a fox demon.   
  
Word around the many Dark Tournaments was that he had returned, but they were seldom believed. But now. . .   
  
Rinko shuddered and dashed away, full of gossip to tell.   
  
Youko Kurama was back.~   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
A/N: ^_^;; I have horrible grammar. . . some of this stuff is probably wrongly used. . .   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
# Forest somewhere... #   
  
Kuwabara ran his thoughts through his mind once again.   
  
Kurama was a fox demon. Kinzoku was a fox demon.   
  
Fox demons were really spirit foxes, and could revert to either form.   
  
Kinzoku was looking for Kurama.   
  
. . . Why . . .?   
  
"Aren't foxes sorta born together?" Kazuma asked. "How is it that you're here and he's there?" He waved a hand vaguely about.   
  
"We were separated at birth-"   
  
Yusuke started violently. "KUSO! I just remembered . . . Are Kurama's parents—your parents—still alive?" Visions of larger, even more imposing kitsunes floated around his brain.   
  
Kinzoku let out an aggravated sigh. "No. They're not. Hunters murdered them while we were still dumb animals..." and thus *another* explanation was made. (A/N: Bahh...gotta stop doing that...)  
  
-----------------  
  
# Kuronue and co. #   
  
After a small debate on whether or not to eliminate Jin, Kuronue chose not to, and resumed his hunt for the elusive hairline fracture he'd made earlier. His hand went to the spot on his chest where his necklace usually hung as he thought, a habit picked up ever since he'd met the mysterious girl he had wrongly insulted.   
  
***The slight woman whirled around, angrily shouting, "GIVE IT BACK!" Her antagonist dangled a golden chain from his fingers.   
  
"Come and get it." Kuronue replied tauntingly, and took flight, wings forcefully blowing the air into a small tornado that sent the female tumbling back. He did not notice the young fighter focus an alarming amount of energy into the palms of her trembling hands.   
  
"S-SPIRIT WAVE!" the chimera dropped quickly from the sky, small bursts of light dancing before his eyes as he hit the ground. Staggering, he limped up, clutching at his pounding head.   
  
"What friggin hell was that?"   
  
"None of your business! I'll just be taking this. . . " She darted forward, snatched her precious necklace away, and began trotting down the path on which she had been ambushed.   
  
"BAKA-YAORU! COME BACK HERE!"   
  
"Baka-yaoru" stopped, turned slowly around, and sent him a look that could have burned through a wall of solid rock. The strands of pink hair and sleeves of her loose woolen shirt billowed out as another formidable incantation was murmured.***   
  
The memory replayed itself again in his mind, and a wry smile crossed Kuronue's features as he recalled the horrific moment when he'd realized that the hateful female had locked away his ability to control and direct his ki. Though he rarely used his demonic skills, (excluding flight) it *was* reassuring to have a last reserve if all else failed.   
  
She'd tossed the necklace to him, telling him that it would unleash his powers, but when taken away he would be rendered helpless to anyone with a significant trace of spirit energy. Only when she died or removed the spell would his normality be restored, his unusual weakness banished.   
  
Of course, he had attempted an attack on her at that moment, only to gain pitiful results caused by a severely sprained ankle. By the time the jewelry was finally hung cautiously around his neck, the girl was out of sight.   
  
Kuronue had yet to learn her true name, but had created one for his own amusement:   
  
Dreadful Hag.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Guess who Dreadful Hag is? ^-^;   
  
You'll find out why Kinzoku is called Kinzoku soon. I think. . .   
  
********************   
  
Next up. . . hmmm. . .I dunno! @.@ You'll find out later.   
  
********************   
  
vocabulary: (from this chapter and some others)   
  
Sake- alcoholic beverage   
  
Nani- What   
  
Baka- idiot, except it means a lot worse than idiot in Japanese...   
  
Baka-yaoru- bitch (unless I spelt that wrong...)   
  
Kinzoku- metal (you'll see why later on)   
  
Kitsune- fox   
  
Youkai- demon   
  
Reikai- spirit world   
  
Ningenkai- err... our world/ human world   
  
Makai- demon world   
  
Reikai Tantei- spirit detectives   
  
Katana- a kind of sword   
  
Ki- energy, spirit energy. . . take your pick   
  
Trisap- created by me for strange purposes...  
  
Emmert: I made that up, too. ^____^;;; **************   
  
Bye!   
  
Review! 


	9. Found

SiC.  
  
T_T  
  
Yeah...that was a really crappy hint at K/B last chap. If you could call it K/B.  
  
*Shaddap*  
  
It's my first fic! And I suck at romance...can you really blame me?  
  
Don't answer that.  
  
I took it out...its NOT GOING TO BE K/B. sorry!  
  
^__^; Genkai is now living with Yukina in Makai.  
  
I have decided.  
  
If she lived in Ningenkai-then she moved.  
  
Why?  
  
BECAUSE I MADE HER MOVE, THAT'S WHY.  
  
Genkai: *slap* Speak respectfully of your elders!  
  
Me: T_T *holds lumpy head* oww...Why the heck are you here? You don't appear until near the end of the fic!  
  
Genkai: No baka!!! *shakes her head in dissaproval*  
  
Me: *Chases after readers* NUUU! COME BACK!  
  
~this chapter has a lot of Hiei in it. I made up an OC to go with it, too! Thou hast no needeth to becometh anxiouseth! Theyest shalsteth noteth go into anything seriousish-eth! *sidles away from Old English haters*  
  
~I have reloaded the last chapter. Not that it makes much of difference.  
  
*************  
  
Disclaimer: unclaimed. Not mine. Disclaimed. Yoshihiro Togashi's. -_- You get the point.  
  
Now, on with the lovely story for which I am quickly running out of ideas. (BUT I WILL NEVER DISONTINUE)  
  
Just keep in mind:  
  
I didn't watch anything of YYH other than the anime. I didn't even watch all of that, either!  
  
I haven't watched any of the movies or read the entire manga series. So if I got something a little off...IT IS NOT MY FAULT. ^_~  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
# Kuronue, Touya, Jin #  
  
~She'd tossed the necklace to him, telling him that it would unleash his powers, but when taken away he would be rendered helpless to anyone with a significant trace of spirit energy. Only when she died or removed the spell would his normality be restored, his unusual weakness banished.  
  
Of course, he had attempted an attack on her at that moment, only to gain pitiful results caused by a severely sprained ankle. By the time the jewelry was finally hung cautiously around his neck, the girl was out of sight.  
  
Kuronue had yet to learn her true name, but had created one for his own amusement:  
  
Dreadful Hag.~  
  
A head of bright red hair tilted forward towards the smooth confinements of the wall, careful not to let his pointed features disturb its smoothness, lest it decide to stretch about. Not seeing anything with so much as a resemblance to the flaw he was seeking, he move to another section, ears twitching with contained excitement mixed with extreme boredom. Minutes seemed to pass by like years, and hours like centuries. The wind master could almost feel his horn turning yellow, his bushy hair growing snow- white.  
  
There was no doubt that they'd been trapped for more than a day, but nothing had changed since he'd first swum out of unconscious fog. Abrasions had mended over the meager amount of time they'd had, but there seemed to be no need for food, water, excretion, or other normal requirements. He'd probably be stuck forever, doomed to spend an eternity hunting for a nonexistent crack with nobody but Touya and Kuronue.  
  
One had almost no sense of humor.  
  
The other was an outlaw and a thief.  
  
Oh, joy.  
  
The elf winced at the very thought, and his keen eyes immediately worked at searching much harder than before; darting about the surface hastily, but vigilantly.  
  
A threadlike fissure caught his gaze, and he shouted a jubilant, Irish- accented rejoice.  
  
"FOUND IT!"  
  
(A/N: *finally*)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
# Some place #  
  
An emaciated shadow of a person paced continuously about his chamber, pondering the circumstances of his situation. It rivaled the complicatedness of the complex stupidity of chess, the pointless game of strategy ningens played at for hours with no end.  
  
Keila had been a weak, overzealous pawn, and had died with miraculously minuscule achievements. Providentially, he still had another mage. Hopefully Shinta and Rhai would prove themselves to be more dependable youkai, perhaps like a rook or a knight.  
  
No matter. Only a few more demons required collection. The several mages he had in stock would be more than enough.  
  
(Note: the author has no idea how to play chess, therefore has no clue as to whether the pieces named above were identified accurately.)  
  
If not, they could also be substituted. They were not necessities; simply severely influenced servants of no worth.  
  
The pallid demon's long, spidery fingers clenched into a loose fist, then uncurled. A bomb with a smoothly cut surface comparable to a gem materialized atop the tips of his fingers, and he absent-mindedly permitted it to detonate there, letting the resonating summons echo. When the flurries of ash cleared, two kimono-clad figures stood in his palm, dipping into identical elegant bows and voicing a chorused greeting.  
  
"Konichiwa, Karasu-sama."  
  
*$_$*  
  
# Hiei #  
  
The ice had taken on a roughly shaped version of the koorime, and mimicked every cautious move he made. It resembled him in stature, build, and other qualities, but it lacked one important, yet insignificant element. An element that truly made it the fabrication of a demon, by allowing it to blend efficiently with the black-frosted walls.  
  
Color.  
  
The matter that had constructed it had attained no color during its creation, and had none at the moment, either. The "clothing" gave the impression of being a crude, stiff garment, whereas the actual article was not. Hiei took chary note of this, recognizing one of his former ally's more complex attacks. He frowned a little at that.  
  
Taisei rarely made images for the purpose of battling her foes-unless she was purposely toying with them or testing their skill. He'd also known her to put effort and lively shades into her creations, unlike the hasty, lackluster work positioned unyieldingly before him. Conversely, her better workings tended to be more efficient.  
  
So, perhaps it was fortunate for him that that did not appear to be the situation he would have to deal with.  
  
The apparition took a step forward; the statue mirrored the stride, and crouched in a defensive stance.  
  
It was, however, still quite obviously an admirable, lethal, piece of work.  
  
"Jaou Ensatsu KAANN!"  
  
There was no point in trying to use his katana. It would be a waste of a rare alloy.  
  
Hiei brandished a sword of crackling, black, green-streaked spirit energy, only to step back quickly to avoid a haphazardly swung blade that matched his own in alacrity, intensity, and substance. (A/N: can you tell I'm studying that junk in science? -_-;)  
  
Grimacing wryly, he knocked aside his antagonist's flaring weapon, and stabbed it in the chest, unsurprised when no blood flowed out. To confirm its defeat, the blade was twisted, and then yanked unceremoniously out to the side. This move left the torso cut halfway through, and it swayed treacherously before toppling over.  
  
The shorn top of the thing collapsed upon the ground, dissipating into a wispy fog. The glistening tendrils of ebony fog floated there, and then darted back and up a few feet to hover above the remnants, a peculiar intent obviously existing as its goal.  
  
Abruptly, the mist solidified into ice, extending into a renewed upper body.  
  
Much to his annoyance and infuriation, the being had again acquired the fire demon's countenance.  
  
The thing wasn't even real, yet it managed to aggravate him; if only in a minor way.  
  
It imitated his movements with perfect precision, but failed at taking an offensive position.  
  
A large chunk of garnet next to the fire demon's head shattered as his attention wandered, spewing the wine-colored shards dangerously close to his eyes- maybe it could take the offensive, after all. He dodged the blazing sword wielded by his impassive opponent, and lunged forward, swiftly removing the thing's emotionless face and head from its rigid shoulders.  
  
Soft laughter echoed chillingly about, scorn and innocent mirth lending it an eerie quality. A pale demon emerged from the shadows, obsidian hair swaying back.  
  
"You should not let your concentration drift from a foe. Life is easily lost in that manner." Wintry eyes voiced a malevolence that discerned no redundant clarification. "...As yours shall soon be."  
  
The apparition standing before her kicked at the fading portion of frozen Youki, and glared. "What in Hell's name are you talking about? I came here for answers, not a battle."  
  
"You left."  
  
Taisei's unforgiving sapphire orbs reflected immense betrayal. She turned away. "You left." As these words left her lips, she traced unmistakable symbols in the air, her breath clouding the atmosphere.  
  
"Nakago! Amiboshi! Suboshi! Soi! Tomo! Ashitare! Miboshi!"  
  
(A/N: Yes, I took that out of Fushigi Yuugi. Which I do not own.)  
  
"SEIRYUU SEISHI!" the wolf demon whirled to stare angrily at her old friend once again, releasing a devastating attack as she did so. She snarled a final statement at him, baring sharp fangs. "Shi ne."  
  
%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Dramatically happy ending, neh?  
  
Yes, I know that was crappily short.  
  
~sama- a title of respect  
  
Shi ne- die  
  
Konichiwa- hello  
  
Arigatou-thanks; thank you  
  
Gomen (nasai) - sorry, forgive me, etc.  
  
Jaou Ensatsu Kan- basically a sword of black fire that forms around the hand. Hiei almost never uses it, though. I only know about it because of Reikitantei (dot something)...Not even sure if it's really green. Their little picture was, but the description said black, so I kind of swirled it around. ^ ~  
  
-----------------------  
  
'Wintry eyes voiced a malevolence that discerned no redundant clarification.'  
  
Guess how long it took me to come up with that sentence. --;  
  
More of Kurama, Yusuke, Botan, Kinzoku, and the Kuwabara siblings next time!  
  
...Did you know that there's something called Kawakawa? O.O  
  
Sooo. Tell me what you think! Should I edit my pitiful fight scene? Leave it? Change something else? Your wish is my command! Or in this case, your review. Maybe.  
  
And yes, I know that the dude from Rurouni Kenshin was named Shinta. I don't have a large vocabulary for Japanese names, you know!  
  
Reviews:  
  
T_T why hast thou all forsaken meee?  
  
Honestly, I don't blame you all for not reviewing. (ALTHOUGH I SHOULD!!! *gets whacked on the head again by Genkai* @.@) I reeeally need to work on my romance skills. This might even turn out to be just a friendship fic. I think I'm better at that. X_x  
  
New reviewers:  
  
Not going to bother with this anymore. I keep forgetting people, anyhow.  
  
Things I don't think you should bother with anymore:  
  
~Voting for couples...and basically everything else. -_-" It wasn't going anywhere, anyways.  
  
=======  
  
IT'S SNOWING. PRAISE THE LORD.  
  
(Well...it snow *ed*, anyways.)  
  
*Snowfall does not intend to offend any readers in any way if they do not fully agree with her, or if they are not part of the religion that believes in that person. *  
  
Gomen!  
  
^-^  
  
Questions? Comments? Corrections?  
  
Finish reading and review!  
  
Sayonara! 


	10. Interlude: Hiei

Notes: remember what I told you before? About me not watching the movies and part of the series? Well, this confirms it.  
  
You don't really have to read this; you could just skip to chapter eleven of twelve or whatever it is. But it is REALLY short, so it won't take much time if you do bother to.  
  
If you noticed, this is marked as chapter ten. I combined the first two chapters because I thought they were too short --;, so now you'll have to deal with this confusion, alright?  
  
Slightly AU, screwy, off, whatever you'd like to call it, about Hiei's past.  
  
I LOVE you animerocker! ^_^ since there's no background information, I get to invent something! Time to put some creative thinking into this fic...  
  
=  
  
Interlude One: Hiei  
  
~ "You left." ~  
  
The Forbidden Child was his scorned title, his birth name was Hiei. He was a Jaganshi and the keeper of the Dragon of the Darkness flame. He was a banished member of the Koorime, for they considered him a shameful blemish to their pure lineage and blood, a repulsive combination of fire and ice.  
  
To them, he would always be a youkai symbolizing impurity, wrongdoing, and sin.  
  
But, before he was discovered, before the Forbidden one's heart erected unbreakable walls of ice, was there an ally?  
  
Was there one who was a comrade to him before he became an outcast?  
  
Was there a solitary individual who became a friend in a world of loathing?  
  
Let us see.  
  
-  
  
The young koorime clung to the side of the enormous glacier; morosely tugging at the veil he was expected to wear. Kaa-san had warned him not to remove the garment, lest another see the full extent of his features and suspect something distrustful in him. But who would come up here? Rhokan Glacier was a rarely climbed portion of ice that few dared to ascend to. In his pale bleached garb, who would ever discern his identity amongst the whiteness of the landscape?  
  
In his seclusion, he could remove his tedious act of a proper female, and let himself rest in the unwary serenity of the arctic world. His thoughts drifted as he watched a lazily coasting flock of snow gulls to his clan's members. Would they truly abandon him if they discovered his true gender and bloodlines?  
  
They had accepted a vagrant wolf demon, why not he? Taisei, which was the wolf's name, had stumbled into their territory a fortnight before. Shira, the leader, had taken pity on her, and convinced the rest of the council to allow the stranger to live with them. In spite of this, Taisei was treated with abhorrence by most, but was still let alone in the area of her dwelling.  
  
With her alien blue eyes and pointed ears, the recent addition to the clan proved to be an object of fascination and empathy for the young koorime. They both were- or would be- outcasts of the very race they lived with, and- -  
  
A small trickle of pebbles trickled down onto his shoulder, and he cursed inwardly. His telltale black, white streaked hair was exposed, and there was no way he could deny any accusations made. His position wasn't too good, either. Praying to all the gods he had ever heard of, he threw himself up just about the rest of the way to the flattened peak of the glacier, preparing himself for the worst. When Hiei peeked over the edge, he was stunned to see that the only inhabitant of his usual thinking spot was Taisei herself, squatting to stare curiously back.  
  
The youkai grinned a sharp-toothed grin, and offered a hand up to him, eyes dancing brightly in the glaring sun when he accepted. The next words she stated were the first that she would ever say to the fire apparition.  
  
"I am not alone in my seclusion, after all. Care to become an associate of mine, Male?" The last utterance had not a hint of bitterness or disparagement, but consideration.  
  
And so, of course he agreed.  
  
-  
  
Henceforth, the beginnings of a bond of friendship were created.  
  
.  
  
o  
  
O  
  
*  
  
O  
  
o  
  
.  
  
Hiei: ...  
  
Me: what do you think?  
  
Hiei: you called me...repulsive *twitch*  
  
Me: but you know I didn't mean it! *hug* right?  
  
Hiei: ::reverting to demonic form:: Right... *turns green and scaly*  
  
***  
  
Hoped ya liked!  
  
Next Interlude will be about someone else... 


	11. Oddities

***I've combined the first two chapters, and then reloaded the rest of the fic, too. Since I combined the first two chappies, I also stuck in an Interlude there...its in the chapter before this, if you want to read it. And yes, it does relate to this fic, its actually story-ish.  
  
Disclaimed.  
  
~  
  
Corrections: I think shin ne (which means die) might actually be spelled *shi* ^-^;  
  
-...and it turns out that Kurama actually has five tails, not one...o.o go figure. Not going to bother making the corrections, though...I'm thinking of reloading this whole ficcie once I'm done with it so I don't annoy everyone away. ^-^; I'll just pretending that from here on he grew four more tails or something...  
  
-Combined chapters one and two, because they were annoying me with their shortness.  
  
Unsure: I made up some abilities for Kuronue. Yes, He has his scythes and all, I know. But shouldn't every demon have some kind of power? Tell me if he *does* have something special so I can make up for the crappiness.  
  
~  
  
*typing...in the basement* Oo;  
  
Gomen nasai, Nagem! *wails loudly* And ARIGATOU!  
  
Or...I could be worried about nothing...because my story just might take a completely different twist then Nagem's...hmm...--; *thinks*  
  
You know why this happens to me? THE GODS ARE AGAINST ME! THEY'RE ALL PLOTTING AGAINST ME! *shakes a fist at the ceiling* but I love 'em for their super powers! ^ ~  
  
~  
  
Disclaimer: yes. Or no. Or whichever one says that I don't own it.  
  
Tama-neko: idiot. *I* could type better stories. If I had a keyboard meant for paws, of course.  
  
Me: shaddap, Tama! *sprays him with her trusty hose* ^____^ APRIL FOOL'S! teehee! *hugs a soggy Tama*  
  
Hiei: *soaked but quickly drying~twitches~vein throbs* baka...it's past April Fool's Day. *fireball pops up in his hand* heh... *cackles evilly*  
  
Me: O.O I need another hose... or a fire extinguisher...make that a truck... *Tama hisses in right ear* *glare* make that a truck with a large dalmation...  
  
Hiei: *chucks fireball*  
  
Me: GAAAAAHH!!!  
  
Tama-neko: MREOOOWW!!!  
  
******************************************************  
  
~ "Shi ne." ~  
  
A jagged spiral of blackened ice divided and detonated into seven directions, making its presence an expeditious threat. Hiei was forced to dodge, weave and destroy the onslaught, mentally crossing out a number each time an assault was eliminated.  
  
Six  
  
Five  
  
Four  
  
Three  
  
Two--  
  
He landed gracefully in a defensive crouching position, but readily stood- and then stumbled forward a few inches as a last, unseen, unanticipated blast drilled in from behind. Sharp, splintering shards of coldness dug through the shirt into his unprotected back, drawing trickles of blood that left claret blotches upon the black material.  
  
The koorime hardly flinched. Instead, he rose and sneered contemptuously at his attacker, a faint hint of distress and disbelief lingering in his narrowed scarlet eyes. "Taisei no baka! What the--!" He never had a chance to complete his amply profane question, for at that moment another shard drove deep into his shoulder, others forming as it hit its target.  
  
A subtle rage flared in the back of his thoughts, all disorientation banished by an indignant resentment. If Taisei had calmly sought an apology, and perhaps given an *explanation* he would have refrained from an attack. Regrettably, she was acting foolishly, and so deserved no mercy. Stupidity in others was one of the qualities that he despised in others. The angered apparition jerked the icy stiletto out of his arm without a second thought, inspected the bloodied surface, and careless tossed it away.  
  
-  
  
To a weak human's sight, the youkai may have appeared to teleport from his position to the area directly in front of his foe.  
  
From a more experienced point of view, the performance would have differed vastly. One would have observed the careful unsheathing of the fire demon's katana, the reluctantly aimed thrust into the antagonist's stomach--  
  
-  
  
Hiei withdrew his sword from his contender's body, wiped it clean and bright once more on his tunic, and slid it grimly into the worn scabbard at his waist, pausing to scrutinize its victim.  
  
Taisei's bent form fell with a thud upon the earthen floor and shuddered as the ice misted away. The pale lids that closed tightly over azure eyes were obscured by dark hair splaying across the angled features and slightly pointed ears that defined her as a wolf demon. Crimson liquid flowed freely out of the wound, and her clawed hands clenched and unclenched at the pain.  
  
Seconds passed, and Hiei finally turned away, if somewhat rigidly. Then he walked mutely out of the cavern, leaving the demoness to her probable death.  
  
==========================================================  
  
Botan stretched her arms out towards the cerulean heavens, enjoying the feel of the cool wind in the folds of her kimono and the warm sunshine embracing her skin. Who would have thought that the demonic realm was so magnificent? The brightly glistening treetops beneath the seat of her oar came in a variety of colors, ranging from a solemn deep maroon to a garish pink-green. All of them blurred together prettily as she soared above, tracking the ningens and demon as they hurried forward on a well-trodden path.  
  
But one thing still bothered her: Kurama's only sibling had been quite a few years younger than him. Kinzoku, as was the young kitsune's alias, was not supposed to have even reached a hundred years of age, which was the age at which most demons reached puberty. Yet an older adolescent was what she appeared to be. Was it possible that Reikai's files were incorrect?  
  
Down below, Kazuma was wondering something similar. He had indeed sensed youki emanating from the fox, but only that. No life force, no nothing; just a shimmering silver haze justifying itself as demonic energy. But that was when he looked at her head and midriff. When he looked at her knees and feet, a coppery field of ki practically jumped at him, demanding its existence to be known.  
  
It was quite odd for someone with a keen sight and physic ability such as his to set eyes on an individual who only had life in her shins and feet. He thought about revealing significant piece of information to his fellow 'detective,' (A/N: I put the little marks around detective because I don't think that they're really detectives. I think that Koenma hired them do his dirty work, being the smart ruler he is.) but decided against it after mulling over in his mind about how it would sound.  
  
'Urameshi, Kurama's sister lives in her feet.' The orange-haired Reikai Tantei winced at the very notion. Even he thought it sounded stupid, and subsequently chose to remain silent until he fashioned a more intelligent sounding reply. While he was doing so, Kuwabara nearly tripped over his Shizuru, who produced a glare in his direction.  
  
She had come to a halt (along with the others, and Botan, who had landed her oar) in a shaded glade that harbored an almost invisible shelter that had been dug beneath a mossy granite boulder. To Kazuma's astonishment, his sister did not give him the expected slap. She just turned and continued to stare hard at the fox that had been leading them. Perhaps she had also noticed something strange...  
  
A split second later, he received the second great shock of his day as Kinzoku flickered—literally flickered—and disappeared.  
  
Or at least, the top part of her did. As the Tantei looked on in utter amazement, their goggling roamed down to rest upon a small, wide-eyed kitsune that smiled sweetly and latched itself onto the nearest limb.  
  
From her tightly clutched half-perch on Yusuke's leg, the kit grinned sheepishly at her newly retrieved cohorts.  
  
"So you *are* gonna help me, right?"  
  
(A/N: Kinzoku: imagine Shippou from Inuyasha (which I do not own), only...a little different. Same height, though, I guess...)  
  
==========================================================  
  
Hate.  
  
That was what Karasu felt for the kitsune. That was the emotion that inhabited every cell of his body, every thought that flickered across his mentality. Each movement he made contained a sparking ember of the black, burning rage that had infested his mind since his bereavement.  
  
It had seemed so uncomplicated, so effortless. The restrained kitsune had hardly put up a decent fight in his pathetic ningen form, letting his emotions flare across his countenance in a marvelously appealing exhibit of pain. He should have known he was being too secure in his manner. It had been evident that the other's power was rising, but he had paid no attention. Thus, all of his sorrows may have been the consequence of a fault of his own.  
  
Surprisingly enough, a plant had brought about his demise. A beastly, demonically summoned plant, but a plant nonetheless.  
  
Now, deep, marring wounds twisted themselves across the demon's once elegant, beautiful figure;  
  
never to bleed again,  
  
never to be healed,  
  
never to be scars,  
  
never to cause death.  
  
Death. So simple a word, yet so much pain it caused when denied to one's soul.  
  
Is there anything worse than death?  
  
The raven-haired youkai was one of many who knew the answer to the ever- asked question.  
  
Yes.  
  
Torture, rape, and witnessing the pain and murder of close friends and family were just a few examples, the last being openly scorned in Makai. All of these paled, however, when compared to the bomb demon's ordeal.  
  
He had assumed a condition that some might have called immortality, others an undead monster. Karasu himself perceived his present state as withered husk, a flawed shell of his former self.  
  
Who was to blame?  
  
The answer was simple:  
  
Youko Kurama.  
  
=====================================  
  
"FOUND IT! Foundit foundit FOUND IT!" he crowed stridently. Twitching ears extending, Jin kicked up his feet with glee, and began to float upwards, a peculiar habit he had acquired in high levels of joy.  
  
"MATTE!" Touya grabbed the elf's ankles to keep him from crashing into the wall and making it stretch again. "Stop that! You'll end up having to find it all over again!" He berated the wind master while dragging him down to a lower altitude.  
  
Kuronue flapped over, his face wearing a perplexed expression. "So. Now what?"  
  
"We figure out how to open it up more- without applying any pressure to it. I'd say...anything much heavier than a few flies."  
  
"NANI?" the wind youkai was jerked out of his exultant state, and he groaned as if he were about to vomit. "How big are these flies?" he asked hopefully.  
  
His comrade shrugged. "The ones around the size of a fingernail, I guess."  
  
"Well...shit. Then we're screwed." The observant comment came from a chimera.  
  
"We could try using youki, but then we would have to locate it again."  
  
"..."  
  
"We *AIN'T* doing that. Ehh...whot *else* should w' do?"  
  
"I can't do squat, and neither can you two. Basically we're stuck until the psycho that imprisoned us decides to come along and free us."  
  
The ice master raised an arched eyebrow. "Why can't you do anything? You never *did* tell us what your abilities were."  
  
"Nothing much." The thief shifted uneasily, conjuring a false grin. "It doesn't matter."  
  
"Yes it does! Why, s't that you're weak? That doesn't matter a bit! Even D class c' probably break this stupid thing if we could jus' *touch* it!" Jin accented the word "touch" with an incensed gesticulation, failing to remember that the demon he was conversing with had been one of the greatest thieves to ever live-- which meant that there was virtually no chance that he was anything less than C class.  
  
"No..."  
  
"What is it?" Touya inquired unwearyingly.  
  
"Music." Kuronue said, wincing slightly. A happy tune was not a coveted power in the demonic realm. Most youkai scorned anything cheerier than a war chant that shouted with bloodlust. He also knew what false thoughts of hope would occur in his acquaintances' minds...  
  
"Music!" Jin exclaimed, "Why the 'ell didn't 'cha say so b'fore? Thank Enma! WE'RE SAVED!"  
  
"Not exactly." The remark earned its narrator an incredulous stare.  
  
"What?"  
  
*  
  
"WHADDAYA MEAN, YE DON'T HAVE YER NECKLACE!?" The elf's normally cocky stance drooped considerably.  
  
"I *had* it!" Kuronue protested, "And I brought it with me, I'm sure of it! But it fell off sometime before I met you. It's probably lying around here somewhere. Besides, even if I had it" For the second time in that hour, he felt a fervent desire for the ornament.  
  
The master of ice had remained silent throughout the exchange, but spoke up, a note of humor suppressing itself in his voice. "Can't you just whistle?"  
  
Sullen silence was all the answer that was given.  
  
//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\ //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//  
  
^_____^  
  
-  
  
P.S., About the tails:  
  
Kitsunes are supposed to grow more tails as they grow older or more powerful. Too bad Youko doesn't have a specified number of tails. I went to about ten million different sites, and the numbers I got were 1,2,3,4,5,7, and 9. Why the people decided to skip 6 and 8, I'll never know. --; The majority seemed to be five, so that's what it'll be for now.  
  
~*~  
  
Japanese vocabulary:  
  
Matte- wait  
  
~no baka- ~you idiot (~ = the name)  
  
~*~  
  
PPS: I don't own Tama-neko! He (She? *Tama growls*) was created by Yu Watase, creator of Fushigi Yuugi. Arigatou for creating the beast, Watase- sama! *bows*  
  
PPPS: PRESS THE BUTTON! PRESS THE LITTLE PURPLE BUTTON! OR OT SHALL EAT YOU! EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!  
  
Note: Snowfall heart Kurama. Snowfall heart Hiei. Snowfall is like Hiei in many personality traits, only happier, but Snowfall hearts Kurama more than Hiei. However, Snowfall finds it easier to annoy Hiei in her notes.  
  
Hiei: *sarcastic* ...thanks...  
  
Continuation of Note: Snowfall in unavailable at this time. Snowfall has gone to hug Hiei into a pulp...Snowfall wishes for you to leave a message after the *beeeeep*  
  
*  
  
Just to let you know, to make up for the lack of Kurama in the past chapters, the next one will be about mostly him. That's right (almost) ALL about my silve-red bishie! ^_^ 


	12. Whistles and Beeps and Gremlins, Oh my!

WARNING! WARNING! ALMOST FILLER CHAPPIE! LOTS OF POINTLESS STUFF!

Disclaimer: I own no Furbies and no Yu Yu Hakusho characters.

Well, after I managed to dig myself out of multiple stacks of essays and schoolwork, I went for a walk. Then, I was helping an old lady with a heavy bag of groceries cross the street. But then she knocked me out with her cane and kidnapped me, which is why I took so long to update.

I CAN MAKE ITALICS! WHOOO! FINALLY!

---, , , , , and anything else you can think of; means a scene change. Hopefully, you've realized that by now.

ITALICS!! ...now mean a sort of flashback to the last chapter.

One last thing: Who knows if there's a sun in Makai? Because I don't...

Second to last thing: I know, I know. My updates take forever. But that's because I like starting things, and then have an AMAZINGLY difficult time finishing them. It even says so on my horoscope sign's description! I'm a cancer.

---

"Can't you just whistle?"

"Whhhhhhpppppfffftttpphhhhhh—"

"Wrong again. You don't blow through your teeth; you blow through your lips!"

"_WHHHHHPPHHFFTT!"_ Kuronue narrowly missed hitting his "whistling tutor" with a forceful spray of spit in a powerful breath inspired by frustration.

In an astounding time of one minute and twenty-seven seconds, Jin and Touya had determined this:

Since he had no instrument, the bat demon's necklace was useless even if it was retrieved.

Therefore, he needed to be taught how to whistle.

Kuronue was a fool for not learning how to whistle three hundred years ago.

Kuronue was also a fool for not having eaten the necklace or having it (surgically) implanted into his body.

Chimeras were frightening when their anger escalated.

At the moment, a somewhat bruised wind demon with several lumps on his head was inspecting the inner recesses of their boundaries, a hand tenderly probing one of the violence-caused bumps on his skull. He watched the pair out of the corner of his right eye, the left one swiveling to look for the necklace, which was performing a talent he had perfected in the last two decades.

Jin was extremely bored, to say the least, and out of desperation had found that he could give himself some amount of entertainment if he made his eyes roll in different directions, then squinted to blur the scene. Touya and Kuronue looked exactly like a drop of water and a tree stump, except that the water was rather choppy, and the trunk was winged...

His undeniably strange train of thought screeched to a halt when a faint glint of gold showed itself within his field of vision. The elf drifted down towards the sparkle, stretched out in a horizontal position on nothing but air.

A plan to escape:

Check.

A possible opening to use:

Check.

The demon to use:

Soon to be checked.

The key to unlock the demon:

...Jin rested his chin on his folded arms and peered gloomily at the necklace that was lying mutely on the surface of his prison. "You'd better work." He told it mournfully.

---

A/N: Yes, I'm stalling for time here while I get my brain to move its extremely slow butt and get some ideas. I think the summer heat fried it completely and its only just now woken up. So they shall remain in their little container.

---

Youko Kurama was puzzled. Only a teeny-tiny bit, of course, but still, he was puzzled. Several low-class demons had crossed his path. He'd killed them all, of course, but many of them had gaped at him instead of going about in their normal primitive behavior as uncivilized youkai as they should have in his presence. Was it possible that his disguise was too feeble? Never before had the bandit donned a costume, and coincidentally had little experience on the subject. He had always preferred holding his robberies over the fools' heads to keeping quiet and remaining an unseen silhouette.

The fox demon had also considered reverting to his human form, but that would have made him attract even more attention considering that this was Makai. He'd taken some pride in the making of his masquerade, regarding his former white complexion, but perhaps he had been too simple in selection...

Ah, well. They were gone now.

He banished the nagging thoughts, and fell onto all fours as he slipped into the guise of a fox, and went off to hunt. A kitsune had to eat, after all. He spotted a pheasant waddling through a bunch of tall reeds, and slunk carefully after it. It was a nice, plump, prey—and not one of the irksome demon-possessed ones, either. The creature would make a decent meal for the day.

Hunting...how he had missed it...

He lunged, and broke the bird's neck.

Perfect.

Kurama was about to gorge himself when he felt a strange, buzzing sensation by his ear. The youkai swiped an annoyed paw at it-

And froze when a barrage of two tiny voices intoned themselves into his ears, echoing irritatingly. Their conversation (which was directed only partially at himself, it seemed) went something like this:

Right ear: "Youko-"

Left ear: "Youkai-"

Right ear: "Kitsune-"

Together: "Konnichiwa."

Left: "Karasu-sama requests-"

Kurama's eyes narrowed at the name "Karasu".

Right: "Demands-"

Left: "Yes, demands-"

Right, triumphantly: "But you said 'requests'-"

Left, indignantly: "Tis the same."

Right: "Is not."

"Tis too."

"Is not."

"Tis too."

"Is not."

"Tis too."

"Isn't."

"Tis."

"Isn't."

"Tis."

"Isn't."

"Tis."

The fox shook his head, hoping to quake the intruders out of his ears, but had no such luck. The voices continued their increasingly loud dispute at his eardrums' expense, and at last his exasperation grew too great. He transformed back into a youkai, and snatched at his ears, earning himself two closed fists and tight hold on two tiny bodies. Youko brought his clenched hands before him, claws coming treacherously close to cutting his palms.

"What do you _want?"_

_---_

A/N: Short, yes, but they'll be back. If Youko has been acting rather strangely and out of character, I apologize. It's because I have seen very few of the episodes with him, and there are very few episodes to begin with. The same goes for Kuronue. I've actually never seen a single animation or anything at all describing his personality, so I made one from scratch because I couldn't resist. ::grins::

---

The trees were standing tall and strongly silent, their stretching branches twisting and curving in arcs that twined together in some places, and were splintered in others, like battle wounds against the weather. A round golden sun cast its ever-reaching rays through the trees, creating intriguing shadows that grew and overlapped each other, ribboning patterns of dark and light across the firm earth. This world was one of some awesome beauty, but it also lived up to its demonic name quite well.

Makai was a world of survival, a dimension where each demon lived for himself and only himself. Groups, mobs, cults were formed, but in the end they rarely had any true trust in one another. It was a land of brute rawness and primitivism, much like early Ningenkai , but with savagery that exceeded it onto far greater levels.

Unlike the demons that lived in this strange demonic realm, the Reikai Tantei which this story has depicted thus far were majestic, noble characters. They were people of merit, honor, valor, and chivalry—

"Say _what?_"

Yusuke stared wide-eyed at the kitsune who was attached to his leg, her question not even reaching to his brain cells from his eardrum. Strangely, she reminded him of blue-furred, Furby-resembling Puu, who had been so fond of attaching itself to his body. After a moment of analysis, he picked casually at the demon, and effortlessly peeled her off. He lifted the abridged Kinzoku up by the scruff of her neck, so she was at eye-level, and voiced his thoughts, tête-à-tête, and nose-to-nose with her.

"Holy crap!"

Kazuma consulted his code of chivalry, and found that it disapproved. "You shouldn't use that kinda language in fronta girls, Urameshi." He criticized. "'Specially the little ones!"

"I am your senior by at least one hundred years, idiot _ningen!"_

"Ho-ly _cra-peh!_"

"What?" Shizuru asked bluntly, "Doesn't your kiddy employer do that all the time?"

The spirit detective squinted at Kinzoku. "Did Koenma teach you that, squirt?" he demanded.

He received a hard nip as a response. "Put me down, you thug!" She yelped, all former majestic presence gone with her height, "You're going to strangle me!" Yusuke obliged, and she landed with a solid _thump_ on the grass. "_Itaiiii..."_ She scowled up at the Reiki Tantei, who were still quite astonished, wishing that she had bitten _off_ his nose instead of leaving just a few teeth imprints.

"Help you with what?" He asked, and crossed his arms in an iffy way.

"Yeah! Help you with what?" Kazuma echoed his friend, disliking having the kit mouth off to him.

The fox demon managed to look down her nose, upwards at him, in an imperious and scornful way that reminded Yusuke painfully well of Genkai. "Finding my brother! I told you that already!"

"Oh."

"You don't need to find your brother." Shizuru told the belligerent kit. "We're working with him."

The demon stared at the human as if she had said that Hell had been run over by fluffy bunny-rabbits. "Members of my flesh and blood do not work with _Reiki Tantei_! We are proud demons! We _spit _on the mortals!" She prattled on and on about demonic honor and expressed her highly strung prejudices, "We despise the _ningens_! We _scorn_ the spirit world's members! We rob them! We _kill them_! _We_-"

"Will be quiet." Shizuru cut short her rant. "Because these _ningens_ are going to help you." She lit a cigarette with a black lighter and leaned on the nearest tree, blowing out a stream of thick smoke.

"Why are we helping it?" Yusuke asked, resentfully rubbing his nose.

"It" turned vengefully on him, quivering with righteous anger. "I gave you a GIFT! You returned it! THAT _SIGNIFIES_—"

"All right, all right." Yusuke responded grudgingly. Why had they had to come this way? Why on earth couldn't_ Kurama _be the one to deal with _Kurama's_sister? Because they had split up, that's why. "'My plan was that we could all split up!' "he mimicked Botan mockingly, somehow getting some of her genuine perkiness into his voice. "Why did we ever listen to you?" He crossed his arms and looked around, expecting to be showered with the Grim Reaper's huffy protests, but was rewarded with silence.

"Botaann?"

She was nowhere to be found. Even Kuwabara suddenly became alert, noticing the absence of the ferrygirl's chatter. Yusuke scoured the scene with his vision, with a hint of panic, eyes flickering to and fro—

_Beep_

_Beep_

Yusuke's ear twitched quite noticeably, and he followed the noise like a dog did a whistle. He peered around to see the deity crouching behind a boulder, fruitlessly poking at the communicator that Koenma had provided. It was useless, apparently...

"Botan." A touch of aggravation.

_Beep_

_Beeeeee—p_

_**Beeeeeeeeep**_

_**BEEEEEEE—**_

"_**Botan."**_

She sighed, and slipped it away into a pocket hidden within the folds of her pink kimono. The youthful spirit lord was probably taking a nap, she thought indignantly, while they were stuck roaming through Makai. She blinked at Yusuke's sudden mention of her name.

"Hmm?"

---

"Owww." The word was said with a wince as Kuronue plucked a single blunted needle of ice from his wing. Kuronue shivered, and cast a dirty look at Touya, who was impassively motioning for him to come back to his former position. The ice master had been demonstrating how to correctly whistle, and had tapped into his ki 'by mistake' during the presentation, blowing sharp shards of ice that his pupil had barely avoided. "You did that on purpose." He accused the shinobi, scowling.

"Perhaps." Touya's eyes remained unreadable. "You need to concentrate more on focusing the air in one spot."

Kuronue let out an exasperated breath, and stopped short when he heard something odd. The air coming out of his mouth seemed to be edged with a piercing, high-pitched noise.

Whistling.

Glorious whistling.

He gaped, astonished, and whistled again, this time louder, just to prove it to himself.

Slowly, a wide grin creased his face.

"I did it."

A stream of jumbled but happy obscenities tumbled out of his mouth.

"HAHAHAAAA! TOUYAA! GIMME A _HUG!"_

The ice master, of course, declined.

---

The voices ceased their repetitive conversation, and Kurama took the moment to examine his captives. Not that there was much difference between the two specimens to note. Both of them glared back at him with small, mean, beady eyes that were entirely black set in a face of dark green and purple, giving them a mottled appearance. The one on his right was a female, the left a male, although the genders were barely distinguishable. Gremlins. One of the most annoying species in the realm of Makai: well known for their crudity and skills in debate.

"Karasu demands—" the male began.

"Karasu-_sama_, Shinta."

"Sh—"

The fox demon tore away the beginnings of another time-consuming squabble. "My answer?"

"You do not require an answer." The female told him snottily, turning up her crooked nose. She fluttered her fingers at Kurama, seemingly ignorant of the fact that he had the advantage of being able to crush her spine. "We have orders from Karasu-sama himself that specifically—" The male, whose name was apparently Shinta, stretched an arm over to bat at the female's head.

"_I _was the one selected to give orders!" he whined pathetically, squirming in his prison.

He was met with a negative reply from his partner, and a well-honed claw that approached his tiny jugular. Kurama looked from gremlin to gremlin, debating on whether or not to tread them underfoot, and gritted out a testy word: _"Answer."_

_---_

This chapter didn't have quite enough of what I promised last time...And I think it's turning into the category of humor. Geeky humor, but humor nonetheless. At least in some parts...

::scrabbles furiously at head:: WHO SURGICALLY REMOVED THE WRITING PART OF MY MIND WHILE I WAS SLEEPING?

This story is moving along at a snail's pace. No. SLOWER than a snail's pace. ::tear::

Note: In one of the later episodes of Yu Yu Hakusho, it is said that normal humans cannot even breath in the air without dying...or something like that. So let's just assume that Shizuru's spirit awareness makes her powerful enough to withstand it. :D

Japanese:

Itai- ow

Ningen- human; mortal

No Reviewer Responses; I wanted to post this as quickly as possible. Even though I've probably lost the few people who bother to read this. -.-

I **_KNOW_** thatthe next chapter will finally get a move on. This one was sort of like that last step before the top of the staircase. ::cheesy grin::

**Finish** R-ing & R!...Or just R. Yes...just R.

R!

R!

R!

(The second R, I mean.)


End file.
